Kakamega Homeboyz coach Patrick Odhiambo has refused to write off their chances of qualifying for the second preliminary round of the Caf Confederation Cup following their 0-0 draw against Al Hilal Benghazi of Libya at the Nyayo Stadium on Saturday.
Homeboyz, who were making their debut in the inter-club competition, squandered a host of chances especially in the first half against the Libyan side in the first preliminary round first leg fixture, and will now need victory in the away contest on August 27 to stand a chance of making it to the next stage.
Despite Kenyan teams having difficulties navigating against North African sides in Caf competitions especially when playing away, Odhiambo is not perturbed with the outcome of the game insisting they still have a good chance to qualify because Al Hilal “did not score against us the away goal.”
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“Of course, we have a big chance of winning that match (away), because the better part of it is they (Al Hilal) also did not score against us the away goal,” said Odhiambo after the game, adding: “The game is still 0-0 and all we need now is to work on our finishing and travel with confidence that we can do it. It will not be difficult away, it is possible and we will travel knowing it is very possible to get a positive result.”
Odhiambo, however, bemoaned Homeboyz’missed chances during the game, including Moses Shummah’s shot in the first half which rattled the woodwork before going out for a goal-kick.
“The difficult part from this game is we did not score a goal despite creating many chances, we were the better side, we attacked them, we hit the post twice but could not put the ball into the net,” added Odhiambo.
Meanwhile, Al Hilal coach Mohamed Ouda admitted Homeboyz were the better side in the first-leg battle and blamed his team’s lackluster show on a few days of training before heading to Nairobi for the duel. The winner on aggregate after both legs will advance to the second preliminary round and face Rayon Sport of Rwanda.