Bandari eye perfect start in Confederation Cup

Kenya’s representatives in this year’s Caf Confederation Cup Bandari FC are eager to pick a win when they take on Sudanese side Al Ahly Shendi in a preliminary tie at the Moi International Sports Centre in Kasarani on Saturday.

Bandari coach Benard Mwalala says he will be banking on home advantage, terming the first leg a must-win for the Mombasa-based side.

“Our preparations started very early as we went to South Africa for pre-season and later featured in the Cecafa Kagame Cup. I have no complaints whatsoever on our preparations for this particular game and the upcoming season in general. We have learnt a lot and are ready to start off well by winning at home. It is very important to win at home convincingly and that is our plan,” Mwalala said after the team’s training at the Jamhuri High School on Wednesday afternoon.

“We don’t know a lot about our opponents but we have a game plan and we will stick to it. I believe we will get a positive result,” he added.

The dockers lost custodian Farouk Shikalo to Tanzanian giants Yanga SC and Mwalala has hinted at signing a foreign keeper soon.

“We only have two keepers at the moment – Mustafa Oduor and Michael Wanyika and they are both capable of replacing Farouk but for depth purposes we need one more keeper. I cannot reveal much but a foreign custodian is joining us soon,” he offered.

The team has signed three new players; Danson Chetambe from Zoo FC, Alex Luganji from Nairobi Stima and Cliff Kasuti from Sofapaka. Of the trio, Mwalala says Chetambe is ready and in contention for a starting place on Saturday.

“They are all very good players and have gelled well with the rest of the team. We were lucky to have Chetambe with us in Rwanda for Kagame Cup, he is totally fit and in tandem with the rest. In fact, he is in contention to start on Saturday.

"Luganji and Kasuti have been doing well in training but I will need to gauge them in one or two competitive matches. We however need one experienced central defender as we only have three at the moment. We are in talks with one and I hope we can complete the deal before the league kicks off,” he said.

“We did not lose many players and that gives us an edge. Coaches are always worried about rebuilding the team at the beginning of every season but on our end it is a continuation of what we did last season. We need to do better in the league and also in the Confederation Cup.”

Team captain Felly Mulumba echoed Mwalala’s comments saying they have to do well at home. “We have had a good pre-season and it is time to see the results of it. We honestly don’t know our opponents very well, even getting videos on YouTube has been a challenge but our aim is to win at home and we will fight hard to ensure we get a good result on Saturday.”

Al Ahly Shendi are expected in the country on Thursday morning and will hold their first training session at the match venue on Friday afternoon. Tickets for the match will be sold at Sh100 flat rate.