Bandari coach remains upbeat despite Shendi stalemate

Bandari FC head coach Bernard Mwalala believes his side can still qualify for the second round of Caf Confederation Cup qualifiers despite Saturday’s draw against Sudan’s, Al Ahly Shendi.

The Kenyan representatives were off-color in the entire match, failing to register even a single shot on target as the Sudanese, visibly keen to avoid defeat at all costs managed to get a draw away from home ahead of the return leg scheduled for 23rd August in Sudan.

Mwalala, however, insists that the tie is far from over. The former Kenyan international believes his side can still sail through by scoring a goal or or two when the two teams faceoff in Sudan.

“It’s not over. This tie is still open because we didn’t concede at home. For me, pressure is now on them, they will have to ensure that we don’t score at their backyard and we will go there and attack. I believe we can get a goal or two and if we manage to score first, then they will be under serious pressure which will be an advantage to us,” Mwalala told Opera News.

On his side’s performance, the tactician admitted that his boys were far from impressive. He stated that the players failed to implement their game-plan leading to the unimpressive show.

“We played badly, there was no coordination, we didn’t create chances and generally my players didn’t stick to our game plan and when they don’t do that, it becomes difficult. Today my defenders were my best players and that tells you about how we played. But I believe its a learning curve for me and the players because CAF competitions are on another level all together and with more games we will close that gap, ” he added.

The Dockers have recruited Burundian keeper Justin Ndikumana from Sofapaka to boost their goalkeeping department and according to Mwalala, the team won’t miss Harambee Stars keeper Farouk Shikalo who moved to Yanga.

“Ndikumana is a top keeper and he’s definitely a good signing for my team. Today Wanyika (Michael) was outstanding so it means we have two top keepers plus Mustafa (Oduor) who is also coming up well. I don’t think we will miss Shikalo, we have able keepers in the team, ” he concluded.

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