Polack: Gor Mahia Ready For DC Motema Pembe Confed Cup Clash

NAIROBI, Kenya- Gor Mahia FC head coach Steve Polack admitted their 6-1 aggregate thrashing at the hands of USM Alger last month has taught them a valuable lesson as they prepare to play DC Motema Pembe in the play-off round of the CAF Confederation Cup on Sunday at Kasarani.

The SportPesa Premier League champions lost the first leg 4-1 against the Algerians and could not overturn the deficit in the return leg in Nairobi, where they went down 2-0.

“We picked some very hard lessons from that defeat. We know that at this you can’t do mistakes because you will get punished. We gave away cheap goals against USM and that is a mistake we cannot repeat. 

“Sometimes individual mistakes are unavoidable, but it is always good to learn from them,” the tactician stated.

K’Ogalo has dropped down to the Confederation Cup play-off for the third consecutive season after failing to make it past the first round in the CAF Champions League and they hope to continue playing continental football by progressing to the group stages with victory in this round.

Two seasons ago, they reached the group stage for the first time under the tutelage of British tactician Dylan Kerr before doing one better and qualifying for the quarter finals.

“The most important thing is this game ahead of us and getting to the group stage. That is our primary target and we want to work hard and achieve it. We have a thin squad but again I trust all my players and I know we can work together and do well,” Polack continued.

The record Kenyan league winners will be buoyed by the return of captain Kenneth Muguna and Joash Onyango, who missed last weekends 1-0 victory over Kariobangi Sharks FC due to injury.

“They are a pretty decent side and their play both home and away is similar. But we have done some analysis on their strong areas and where we need to be careful as well as how we can exploit their weak areas,” he concluded.