Rulani Mokwena suffers Al Ittihad setback

South African coach Rulani Mokwena did not have a desirable start to his job with Al Ittihad SC on Thursday.

Soon after being appointed last week, the former Mamelodi Sundowns man travelled to Morocco with his Libyan Premier League team for camp training.

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Mokwena travelled to Libya taking advantage of the FIFA window for international games.

Part of the camp training involved playing a practice match against Moroccan opponents Al-Husni.

What happened for Mokwena in first friendly?

The Morocco Defence Force club got the better of the Libyan opponents 2-1 to spoil the party for Mokwena.

The celebrated PSL coach changed his line ups for the first and second halves as he sought to assess his squad ahead of the actual domestic league business in Libya.

The first half-time lineup included Maad Al-Lafi, Talal Farhat, Adam Alilat, Fadel Salameh, Motasem Karam, Mahmoud Shalwi, Ahmed bin Ali, Maad Issa, Nouvel Al-Zarhouni, Lorch, and Ahmed Al-Bayzi.

The South African reshuffled the line up in the second half by featuring Ahmed Abi Al-Masher, Sobhi Al-Mabrouk, Motasem Sabo, Taher Bin Amer, Muhammad Shtiwi, Hussein Badi, Clement, Muhammad Al-Zintani, Anas Shibli, Sanusi Al-Hadi, and Abdul Al-Maiser Abushiba.

What Al Ittihad SC make of the result

Giving an update on the match via their Facebook page, Al Ittihad explained why they faced the Moroccan opposition.

“The match was an important opportunity to assess the players’ readiness, before it ended with a score (2-1) in favor of the host team,” reads the update.

“This match is part of the preparation programme, through which the technical team aims to raise the performance coordination and reach the highest levels of readiness during the next phase.”

Starting a new lease of life in Libya

Mokwena picked a job with the Libyan giants after parting ways with Mouloudia Club d’Alger (MC Alger) in the Algerian Ligue Professionnelle 1.

The highly fancied South African dumped the Algerian league leaders while they sat comfortably at the top, five points clear of second-placed JS Saoura FC.

The 39-year-old walked out on the Algerian side after CAF Champions League exit was followed by indifferent results in the domestic league.

On March 14, Mokwena finally announced he had left his role soon after MC Alger’s 3-2 defeat at the hands of Sead Ramovic’s CR Belouizdad in the Coupe d’Algeria (Algerian Cup).

MC Alger appointed Tunisian Khaled Ben Yahia as the team’s new head coach, replacing Mokwena. Yahia signed a contract that will keep him in charge of the team until June 2027.