Gor Mahia face AS Otoho in Confederation Cup. They have been allowed to have up to 10,000 fans when they take on the Congolese side AS Otoho d’Oyo in the second leg of the CAF Confederation Cup play-off round in Nairobi on Sunday.
Trailing 1-0 from the first leg in Brazzaville last weekend, K’Ogalo will need to win the game by a margin of more than two goals to advance to the group stages of the continental competition for the third time in the last four years.
Head coach Mark Harrison hopes that the presence of fans will be an added boost to his side as they seek to overturn the first leg deficit.
“It is always great to have the fans back and I believe their presence will be very key for us as we try to push for a place in the group stage. The players need that extra push because this is a tough battle and we are really grateful to have them back,” said the tactician.
Gor Mahia face AS Otoho in Confederation Cup, Gor qualified for the group stages for the first time in the 2018 season and went on to progress till the quarter-finals in the 2018-19 season.
And now, the coach believes that they have what it takes to be there again.
Gor Mahia coach Mark Harrison
“We are facing a tough team no doubt about it but I believe we have the ability to win. We have looked at how we played in the first leg and know what to correct and what to do better,” the coach said.
He added; “We need to change strategy and be more attacking this time. In the first leg we had so much against us and we were forced to guard the result but now, we are at home, we have the full team at our disposal and we have nothing to lose.”
Gor will have striker Jules Ulimwengu and midfielder John Ochieng available for the tie after the two arrived from Congo early this week. They had been detained after apoarently testing positive for COVID-19, something that prevented them from playing the first leg.
Despite testing negative before travel, the two were positive upon arrival. Interestingly, they tested negative just two days after the match after the Gor team demanded for their retest.
Gor Mahia striker Jules Ulimwengu
They were supposed to have been held in Congo for eight days, as per government procedure, o isolate and test again. However, a insistence on a re-test returned negative results,
Harrison will also have defender Philemon Otieno and Midfielder Sidney Ochieng back after the two recovered from injury.
“We have a stronger squad available and that means as a team we will be better and we will have more options. I have no doubt that we will be able to get something off this match,” he added.
K’Ogal will be banking on confidence from their positive start to the local Premier League campaign to push them in their own home turf. In six Premier League matches, Gor has won four and drawn two and are currently sitting third in the standings with 14 points.
While Gor are in a must-win situation, Otoho will be looking for any kind of draw to push them into the group phase of the competition.
Also, Read: Gor Mahia, Tusker ready for weekend continental duties
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