Caf Champions League: Gor Mahia must stay focused vs USM Alger â€“ Polack

BetOdds CAF Champions League USM Alger v Gor Mahia USM Alger Gor Mahia

The Kâ€™Ogalo coach remains positive his side will return home with a good result despite facing hitches in their trip to Algeria for the first leg

Gor Mahia coach Steven Polack has urged his charges to stay focused on a good result when they play USM Alger in a Caf Champions League match on Sunday.

The Kenyan champions finally managed to take off to Algeria after a week of uncertainty and will land in the North African nation on Saturday, just a day before they play at Stade Mustapha Tchaker in Blida at 10.45pm Kenyan timeÂ on Sunday.

Through the intervention of club patron Raila Odinga, Kâ€™Ogalo managed to secure return air tickets for the travelling contingent, a day after they had failed to take off as earlier planned.

With all the problems facing the side ahead of the battle, coach Polack says his players will not be distracted and must aim to get a good result to bring home for the return leg set for September 29 at Kasarani Stadium.

â€œI am happy the team is finally going to Algeria,â€ Polack told Goal.

â€œIf you ask me, some issues sometimes donâ€™t come because of the playing unit or the technical bench, and we canâ€™t do anything to stop them. What happened in regards to travel plans as already happened and our focus now is to make sure we bring home a good result.

â€œI am confident since we will arrive on Saturday, we will have enough time to prepare and rest. It could have been difficult for us arriving on matchday because you donâ€™t get time to rest but now at least we will shade off some jet lag before the match.â€

Asked about USM Alger, Polack said: â€œ[USM Alger] are a very good side, I know they are also faced with financial problems but we must be careful against them because they will also want to get a good result.

â€œAll I know we must be tight at the back and push them hard to try and get the away goal. I will be happy if we score away, at least a goal or two will be vital for us ahead of the return leg.

â€œI know my players can complete the job back home, I am confident we can beat them in Kenya so all we need to do is grind a positive result, even if we lose 2-1, it will be a good result for us heading to the return leg.â€

Last season, Gor Mahia played USM Alger in the Caf Confederation Cup and managed a 0-0 draw at home before losing 2-1 away.

Kâ€™Ogalo eliminated Aigle Burundi 5-1 on aggregate to advance to the first round of the competition while USM Alger tossed out SONIDEP from Niger 3-1 on aggregate to advance.

2019-09-14 10:00:02

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