Record Kenyan champions Gor Mahia will have a difficult choice to make when they take on African giants Al Ahly in the return leg of their 24/25 CAF Champions League Second Preliminary Round tie set to take place at the Cairo International Stadium in Egypt on Saturday night (7 PM).
K’Ogalo suffered a heavy 0-3 defeat in the first leg played at the Nyayo National Stadium and need nothing short of three goals to force a penalty shootout or four goals to win outright while desperately hoping that the Egyptian giants forget their scoring boots in camp.
The 21-time Kenyan champions however face a daunting task at hand as the Egyptian giants will be playing in front of their fanbase on a day that they will also receive their 23/24 Egyptian league title after the Champions League match, giving the hosts even more motivation to stoke the celebrations afterwards.
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On paper, the tie is as good as done with nothing short of a miracle needed for Gor Mahia to progress to the CAF Champions League Group Stages for the very first time in history.
However, speaking ahead of the match, head coach Leo Neiva remained optimistic and called on his team to showcase their best football and try to put some jeopardy in the tie by striking early.
“We are going to try and play our best football. Anything can happen and what we need to do is to score early goals like they did with two easy goals back in Kenya.
If we score two early goals within the opening twenty minutes, then we can fight but it will not be easy of course because they are very strong,” the coach told SportPesa Blog.
Gor Mahia
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The Brazilian tactician also warned his side to be wary of an Al Ahly side that will want to kill the game as quickly as possible.
“They (Al Ahly) are going to press us and try to kill the game very early like in the opening minutes that is why we must avoid early goals. We need to put them under pressure and frustrate them when we play,” Neiva stated.
In the match, Gor Mahia are expected to be without the services of first-choice goalkeeper Kevin Omondi who is nursing a shoulder injury.
ALSO READ: SportPesa launch revolutionary Tujiamini Initiative to nurture talent
Tujiamini is an initiative that seeks to provide a platform, including up to 30M shillings in funding, for individual, team sports and various talent, in a year-long campaign that will go around the country in a move aimed at evoking the sense of pride in Kenya’s sports and talent ecosystem.
Applicants are urged to submit their applications through www.tujiamini.co.ke