Bandari coach Bernard Mwalala cited lack of continental football experience as their major undoing as the club yesterday bade farewell to the tournament after losing Guinean giants 1-0 to Horoya AC at the Moi Stadium, Kasarani.
Bandari were seeking to overturn a 4-2 defeat suffered in Conakry in the first leg played a week ago but their hopes to proceed to the group stages for the first time were put off by Horoya who edged them 5-2 on aggregate.
Mwalala rued lack of experience by the entire team for the exit but exuded the confidence of making a return next year.
The coastal side had eliminated Sudan’s Al Ahly Shendi and US Ben Guerdane from Tunisia in the previous rounds.
“The boys gave their best but lack of experience worked against us. It was our first time at this level as opposed to our opponents who have a wealth of experience here. It was also my first time as a coach to be at this stage and I am happy with the progress we have made thus far,” said Mwalala. “We shift to our league matches which will guarantee us a return to CAF matches and I strongly believe we will come back stronger.”
Ugandan import William Wadri would have handed Bandari the lead barely a minute into the game after Abdalla Hassan picked him unmarked in the box but his shot flew over the bar. The early scare was met with a tactical reaction by the visitors, who swiftly locked the midfield, starving the forwards.
This forced the dockers to resort to the flanks where the duo of Hassan and Darius Msagha made a number of offensive runs but their delivery to Yema Mwamba did not yield fruit courtesy of the police-marking by Aminou Aminou and Boubacar Samassekou at the heart of the visitors’ defence.
Equally, it was a tale of a brunt striking force from Horoya, with only the dreaded Burkina Faso international Aristide Bance on target in the first following a ferocious freekick in the 36th minute but Mustapha Oduor was equal to the task.
After the break, Mwalala introduced Benjamin Mosha for Msagha in a bid to sparkle his attacking force. However, Horoya’s defence stood firm. The Guinean side seemed content with defending the two-goal advantage reaped at home in the first leg as they comfortably dealt with Bandari’s goal onslaughts.
But as fate would have it, fortune swung their way in the 65th minute when an unmarked Mandela Ocansey slotted the ball past Oduor from a long ball floated from the midfield. Bandari had no answer.
