Sofapaka, Gor Mahia depart for continental fixtures
Sofapaka are scheduled to jet out of Nairobi on Thursday afternoon for Zvishavane, Zimbabwe, approximately 385 kilometres south west of the capital Harare for their return Confederation Cup preliminary round tie against FC Platinum.
Sofapaka will be aiming to overturn a 2-1 deficit incurred in the first leg match in Nairobi.
The two sides will clash on Saturday at the 15,000-seater, Mandava Stadium, in what is expected to be a hostile territory for Sofapaka.
At the same time, Gor Mahia, who are competing in the African Champion League, will depart on Saturday morning aboard a Kenya Airways for their return leg fixture against Madagascan champions Caisse Nationale de Prévoyance Sociale Sport. Gor Mahia the first leg 1-0 in Nairobi.
The match will be held at the Stade Municipal de Toamasina, Miarinarivo on Sunday.
POSITIVE RESULT
Sofapaka club President Elly Kalekwa said that they had made arrangements for their travel and he was optimistic that his team will return a positive result.
“We are taking a contingent of 30 players. The team is ready and focused on the match,” Kalekwa said.
Coach Sam Timbe on his part said he beleives his team will turn the tables on the host team and progress to the next round
“Our chances of progressing are still high. We just need to be more clinical and take the chances that we create in front of goal,” Timbe said.
Timbe, will however have to fix his leaky defense as well as his midfield that was short of spark and coherence giving the Zimbabweans freedom to inflict the damage during the first match.
On the other hand, Gor coach Frank Nuttall, will be forced to make major changes to the squad that swept aside Mathare United 4-2 in their opening league match last weekend.
Of the 29 players in the team, only 19 are registered for the continental championship and this could affect his game plan.