Zamalek to field third-choice goalkeeper in Confederation Cup final

Zamalek goalkeeper Omar Salah

Wednesday May 15, 2019. 12:15

Egyptian giants Zamalek will be forced to field their third-choice goalkeeper in the first leg of the CAF Confederation Cup final against RS Berkane of Morocco this coming weekend.

Young goalkeeper Omar Salah is Zamalek’s only available shot-stopper for the match in Berkane on Sunday 19 May, with Mahmoud Gennesh (suspended) and Emad El Sayed (injured) both ruled out of the clash.

This also means that the White Knights will have no replacement goalkeeper on their bench, with only three gloves-men registered for the CAF competition.

Gennesh’s suspension for the first leg stems from a red card he received in the return game of the semifinal away to Etoile du Sahel of Tunisia. Zamalek appealed his dismissal, but CAF’s disciplinary committee rejected their argument.

Coach Christian Gross knew Gennesh would be unavailable for the first match of the two-legged final and therefore gave playing time to second-choice ‘keeper El Sayed in the Egyptian Premier League this past weekend.

The 33-year-old gave an impressive performance in a 2-1 win over El Dakhleya, including saving a penalty, but disaster struck late on when he suffered a hand injury which will rule him out for approximately a month.

This leaves 21-year-old Salah to shoulder the burden of being the White Knights’ ‘keeper. He is a product of Zamalek’s youth system and, according to King Fut, has made only five appearances for the first team in the last three years, including three in the Egypt Cup.

He has never played a continental competition game and his only league start came in Zamalek’s 2-0 loss to arch-rivals Al Ahly in July 2017.