Sharks cautiously optimistic ahead of tough Kotoko game

What you need to know:

  • The aggregate winner of this clash will join 15 other teams in the two-leg play-off against 16 Caf Champions league first round losers
  • Tickets for the 3pm kick off will retail at Sh500 for VIP and Sh200 for regular
  • They boast experienced players in Frederick Boateng and captain Amos Frimpong who’ve previously featured for the Ghana national team

SportPesa Shield holders Kariobangi Sharks Saturday host Ghanaian bigwigs Asante Kotoko in a Caf Confederation Cup first round first leg match at the Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani, aiming to capitalise on home advantage ahead of the reverse fixture next weekend.

The aggregate winner of this clash will join 15 other teams in the two-leg play-off against 16 Caf Champions league first round losers to fight for a slot in the money-spinning group stage.

Tickets for the 3pm kick off will retail at Sh500 for VIP and Sh200 for regular. They will be be sold at the match venue.

Gabonese referee Pierre Atcho will be the man at the centre assisted by compatriots Theophile Vinga and Angelo Mambana while Isidore Nze will serve as the fourth official and Maxwell Mtonga from Malawi the match commissioner.

Sharks coach William Muluya, whose charges knocked out Djibouti minnows Arta Solar 9-1 on aggregate in the preliminary round, is confident of a positive outcome against one of Africa’s greatest clubs.

“We’ve been preparing for all our matches in the same way,” alluded Muluya. “I prepare my team with a winning mindset hence I would like to go past Kotoko, we know their strengths but we also have ours that we shall use to counter them,” he added.

Sharks, who drew 1-1 with AFC Leopards in their last engagement last Sunday, have been boosted by the return of dependable regulars from the sidelines; Ugandan striker George Abege, youthful Sydney Lokale and captain Erick Juma.

Midfielder Sven Yidah and last season’s Most Valuable Player Eric Kapaito are still out with speedy winger Harrison Mwendwa, who has been impressive for the team recently, reliable for creativity upfront.

A 30-man Asante Kotoko contingent, who jetted into the country on Wednesday, led by coach Charles Akunor have been training at Goan Institute grounds but had a mandatory feel of the match venue on Friday.

The team however protested over what they termed as mistreatment by being accorded a poor training pitch and a substandard 25-seater coaster.

“Don’t allow anything to distract you,’’ coach Akunor warned his players on the claimed poor conditions. “We are not from this country so a lot of things will go against us, we will concentrate so that we return home successful,” the former Ghanaian international emphasised.

The Porcupine Warriors - who were given a bye to this round after their preliminary round opponents, Edding Sport of Cameroon failed to register in time - retreated to playing friendly matches in readiness for continental assignments after Ghanaian football competitions were suspended in June following corruption and match-fixing scandals involving Ghana Football Association officials.

They boast experienced players in Frederick Boateng and captain Amos Frimpong who’ve previously featured for the Ghana national team with Malian Naby Keita and Burkinabe Songne Yacouba the only two foreigners in the team.

They were welcomed by Ghana’s high commissioner to Kenya, Francisca Odunton who urged the 24-time Ghanaian champions to avenge Black Stars’ 1-0 defeat to Kenya’s Harambee Stars during the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifier in September.

“This is the second Ghanaian team to come here in a year and I am here to demand revenge for Ghana, I know we are here to win,” she told the team at their hotel in the outskirts of Nairobi.