Dreams FC coach Abdul Karim Zito has refused to blame his team’s semi-final defeat against Zamalek on his players.
The Ghanaian side saw their dreams end at the Baba Yara Stadium as Zamalek thumped them 3-0 in the second leg.
The defeat signaled the end of their remarkable debut campaign in the CAF Confederation Cup.
Despite the disappointment, Karim Zito believes the team exceeded expectations and can’t be blamed for the exit.
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“Today I am proud of our players and I cannot blame them because we know what we were able to achieve.”
He however bemoaned his team’s lack of cutting edge in the final third of the pitch against the Egyptian giants.
“We lacked creating opportunities, then they were able to score goals and scored due to a lack of our concentration.”
Despite the home defeat, the experienced gaffer believes the team’s journey is a learning curve that will help them build for the future.
“We must be calm in matches and manage some things in a certain way. We must learn some lessons from the match as we build for the future, and it is important to suffer in order to get what you want.”
After a goalless first leg in Cairo, Zamalek’s Hamza Mathlouthi broke the deadlock early in the second leg, with goals from Samson Akinyoola and Mustafa Shalaby following suit to seal the victory.
Although Dreams FC were eliminated from the competition, they take pride in their accomplishments. They notably defeated Mali’s Stade Malien on their journey to the semifinals, marking them as the first Ghanaian side to reach this stage in the past two decades. This achievement was previously attained only by Hearts of Oak and Asante Kotoko, both of whom progressed to the final in 2004.
