Bandari FC coach Bernard Mwalala has praised his players for pulling off a historic result against US Ben Guerdane in the Caf Confederation Cup on Sunday.
The Dockers qualified for the final preliminary round of the competition despite losing 2-1 away in Tunisia. The Kenyan side had won the first leg at home 2-0 and thus made it to the next round on a 3-2 aggregate win.
Speaking after the match, coach Mwalala says his plans against the Tunisian side worked and they are looking forward to the next round of the competition.
“I have to thank God for this victorious moment and also thank the boys for a good performance they put in against US Ben [Guerdane],” Mwalala told reporters after the match.
“I think our plan worked because as I said earlier we needed to defend well and then at least get a goal but first half we did not do the same, we never defended well as they scored two early goals against our plans and it kept us under pressure.
“In football it is all about 90 minutes, they had their first half they did what they did and we came in the second half with a plan of getting a goal and defending well and more attacking and it is what we did exactly so I think our plan worked and this is good result for Bandari and Kenyan football at large.”
On the overall outcome of the return leg, Mwalala said: “I think it was a game of chances and we needed to utilise our chances, first half we created two clear chances but we did not use them, and all this came while we were trailing 2-0, and we needed to score at the moment.”
When asked about the next round, where Bandari are likely to face a team from the Caf Champions League, the former Nzoia Sugar coach noted: “I think during our preseason we have been learning a lot from international matches when we went to South Africa and also played in Cecafa tournament in Rwanda.
“We keep committing the same mistakes which always come back to punish us and this is a lesson and we know it is an exposure to the boys because they are young and have never been at this stage so I think they are doing this and they are also learning.
“I think we must wait and see the team we are going to face, and plan on how to play against them but at the moment it is time to go home and celebrate this win because it is historic.
“At the end of the day we have qualified and so I don’t want to comment about officiating but I think the first goal was from a clear offside but we were prepared mentally on matters officiating while playing away [and especially in Tunisia].”
The Dockers will now play one of the relegated sides from the Caf Champions League in a two-legged match to determine whether they will make it to the group stage of the second-tier continental club competition.