Gor Mahia coach Hasan Oktay is confident his senior and experienced team will be available for selection when they face Petro Atletico of Angola in their final Group D match
Image: OLIVER MORGAN
Gor Mahia coach Hasan Oktay is confident his senior and experienced team will be available for selection when they face Petro Atletico of Angola in their final Group D match of CAF Confederations Cup tomorrow at the Moi Stadium, Kasarani.
Gor will be boosted by the return of left-back Shafiq Batambuze and George ‘Blackberry’ Odhiambo in the match after missing the previous match away to Egypt where they lost 4-0 to group leaders Zamalek
Atletico of Angola in their final Group ‘D’ match of CAF Confederations tomorrow at the Moi Stadium, Kasarani. Gor have a date with destiny against the visiting Angolans where a win of any margin will see them progress to the quarterfinals of the continental tournament after narrowly missing last year.
Oktay’s preparations for the must-win match have been hampered by the indefinite go slow staged by his players in protest for unpaid salaries, allowances and winning bonuses but he is optimistic his players will put behind their push to have their dues remitted and focus on the match.
The strike saw a large chunk of the players gave their midweek SportPesa Premier League against Kakamega Homeboyz a wide berth forcing the Cypriot coach to summon his second-string squad for the match.
However, he promised to engage his players to give their all in the match where they will be seeking to avenge their 2-1 loss in Luanda and proceed to the last eight despite being pegged at the bottom of the log with six points.
“I know my players will come for the match. They know it’s a crucial match and we have to win by all means. It’s normal in football and as a family, we have to sit down and get a solution before the match. It’s going to be tough but we know a win will get us to the next level and we must get it. I urge our fans and Kenyans to turn up I large numbers and support us.”
He further asked the Kenya Premier League to consider rescheduling league matches for any Kenyan club honouring continental assignments. “It’s unfortunate league matches are fixed between our continental fixtures which affects our preparations. I ask the KPL to consider shelving such fixtures for us or any Kenyan club to given them good preparation time. Our opponents in the pool had their domestic matches pushed forward and hence had an edge above us.”
Gor will be boosted by the return of left back Shafiq Batambuze and George ‘Blackberry’ Odhiambo in the match after missing the previous match away to Egypt where they lost 4-0 to group leaders Zamalek.
A win for K’ogalo will see them attain nine points which will catapult them to second or top of the group depending on the outcome of the clash pitting NA Hussein Dey and Zamalek in Algiers. Zamalek have eights points while Hussein Dey and Atletico have seven points to their names.