Gor Mahia left Nairobi for Cairo on Friday, September 11, with a 24-player squad, as they look to overturn a two-goal deficit against Pyramids FC in Sunday’s CAF Champions League preliminary round return leg.
The Kenyan champions suffered a 2-0 defeat in the first leg at Nyayo National Stadium on September 6, with Egyptian pair Walid El Karti and Mahmoud Saber finding the net in the first half to hand Pyramids control of the tie.
Head coach Charles Akonnor has used the week since to prepare his squad for the tall order that awaits in Egypt, insisting his players have not given up hope despite the deficit.
“We have to accept it in good faith, go into the next game and believe that if we do the right things at the right moment, there’s always a chance for us,” Akonnor said following the first-leg loss.
Pyramids, the reigning African champions after beating Mamelodi Sundowns in last season’s final, arrive at the second leg full of confidence, and with far greater continental experience than their Kenyan opponents this season.
Sunday’s clash will decide who advances to the second preliminary round, where the winner will face either South Sudan’s El Merreikh Bentiu or Somalia’s Heegan FC.
For Gor Mahia, history is not on their side, the club has never eliminated an Egyptian opponent in 58 years of CAF competition. But with a large travelling party and a week of tactical preparation behind them, K’Ogalo will hope to defy the odds and keep their continental dream alive.
