CAFCL: JS Kabylie move on quickly after losing opener

Algerian club JS Kabylie wasted no time in moving on after dropping a 1-4 result at Egyptian giants Al Ahly in their Group B opener from the CAF Champions League (CAFCL).

JSK collapsed at the end of the first half to concede two goals in an expected result at the home of the Egyptian champions, who recovered to claim three points after letting the visitors back into the match early in the second half.

Next up in a difficult Group B is Tanzania’s Young Africans, which presents an opportunity for JSK to bounce back at home in Tizi Ouzou on Friday. Yanga won their opening match at home against Morocco’s AS FAR, and JS Kabylie can quickly jump back into contention with a victory.

But in order to adjust to the high level of play in Africa’s top club competition, the Canaries are not forgetting their opening match but attempting to learn from it:

“You can see the difference from Champions League to normal league (Algeria Ligue 1). No disrespect against our teams in the country, but Al Ahly showed us today how you play in the Champions League,” said JSK head coach Josef Zinnbauer after the Al Ahly defeat.

“We have to learn now…this was my message to the players: ‘You can see now how you have to play football when you go to another level.’ But it was the first game for us, so again, it was a good experience for us. The players have to learn out of these games. For most of the players in my team, it was the first Champions League game.”

Zinnbauer’s comments reflected understanding at the defeat but with many players optimistic ahead of their first Champions League group stage match, the lopsided result still had a devastating result. The German coach indicated that future Group B games will not be any easier even though they faced the group favorites in their opener.

And now the Young Africans match is a must win, where Zinnbauer is using his past experience to quickly move on from defeat and focus on physical and psychological recovery. With a two-month break from the Champions League arriving after the second matchday, JS Kabylie can remain confident of their continental chances if they are able to take care of business at home Friday.