CAF Cup: JSK draw 1-1 with Astres de Douala

2008-07-14

On Friday, JSK tied 1-1 against Cameroonian side Astres de Douala in the CAF Confederation Cup at the Stade du 1 Novembre in Tizi Ouzou.

By Lyes Aflou for Magharebia in Algiers – 14/07/08

[File] JSK drew 1-1 with Astres de Douala on Friday in Tizi Ouzou. Club chairman Mohand Cherif Hannachi vowed after the match to quit over what he sees differential treatment by the government.

Algeria's JS Kabylie played Astres de Douala of Cameroon on Friday (July 11th), narrowly managing a 1-1 draw in the CAF Confederation Cup match in Tizi Ouzou.

The visitors opened scoring in the 22nd minute. Only in the last few minutes was striker Adlène Bensaid able to equalise and put an end to the misery of JSK’s supporters, keeping alive his team’s hopes of qualifying if they can deliver a good performance in the second leg.

The team's fans believe JSK are not yet playing in top form since they are only in the initial stages of preparation for next season's league tournament. Cameroon's national league has only just come to the end of its season and their opponents are in the running for the cup.

Despite their numerical superiority, the Kabyles were unable to take control of the match after Kibong was sent off in the 33rd minute with a second yellow card. The incident led to an eight-minute stoppage when the player refused to leave the pitch.

Adlène Bensaid told the press that his team-mates had not been in the best of shape. "It's true that we weren't able to gain the upper hand, but it’s understandable; the team hasn’t even officially begun its off-season training, we have a new coach, we’re several men short due to injuries and we’re under pressure from the public, so it’s not easy to deal with all of that and remember, we’re only at 50% of our physical capacity and our opponents are real competitors, but I think we held our own," he commented.

Asked whether the team can come through in the second leg, Bensaid said, "Of course I believe we'll qualify for Cameroon, our opponents aren’t particularly strong, we should be able to qualify with ease, especially after our trip to Morocco when we’ll play some friendlies, that’ll really give us a lot more energy and get us into top physical condition, so I’m optimistic that we’ll play very differently in the second leg and come away with a positive result."

JSK gained a new coach after the end of the league season. Moussa Said, who left for the Gulf, was replaced by Alexandru Moldovan from Romania.

Moldovan had little time to settle into his new post before the match. He was also minus a full bench for the match against Cameroon, with only 16 players, including 3 goalkeepers. He was unable to field new recruits such as Boudjelid, Ouznadji, Maroci, Boukria, Belaoued, Berchiche and Bellat as they do not have African licences.

Having won the CAF Confederation Cup three times already, JSK have a good record in this competition. For some time now, however, their managers have seemed less inclined to regard defending this title as one of the club’s main objectives.

In a press conference after the match, club chairman Mohand Cherif Hannachi vowed to quit over what he sees as indifference on the part of the government, which he says has been reluctant to assist his team financially. Even TV broadcasters have failed to pay the club the money they owe it for the right to air the team’s African Cup matches, he says.

"My decision to leave is final and I've given it a great deal of thought," he said, adding that he feels that his club is being treated differently [by the government] from others.