Gor Mahia hosts Esperance du Tunis in the CAF Champions League round one first leg at Machakos’ Kenyatta Stadium Wednesday.
The Kenyan champions will be facing the Tunisian giants for the third time in four years in the Africa’s prestigious interclub competition.
The last meeting in 2014 resulted in a heavy 8-2 aggregate defeat for Gor, who were making a return after 18-years in the cold.
But Gor’s Malta-born English coach Dylan Kerr holds that the team has since “grown-up” and become more “responsible” and will offer a better opposition to the visitors, who arrived in the country Monday morning.
“Everybody has written us off but my players have grown up and have become more responsible and there’s a lot of togetherness in the team.
“My players know that they can win or draw games in the Kenyan Premier League, they have done it before, but the Champions League group stage is where they are going to be noticed, it’s where the jackpot is,” the former Simba SC coach said.
He added: “We have been getting ready for this stage since pre-season and we are positive that we are going to match Esperance man for man.”
K’Ogalo are the best scoring team in the KPL with 12 goals after five match days and have conceded just thrice, a form Kerr wants carried to the Wednesday tie.
“When on the ball we will create chances and I know we are going to get them and when we lose it we are going to work hard to win it back. We will need composure to convert our chances when we get them.”
The return match takes place a week later in Tunis with the aggregate winner sailing through to the groups stage. The loser will drop into the CAF Confederations Cup playoffs round.
Gor will miss the services of hardworking defender Wellington Ochieng’ who twisted his ankle in Saturday’s 2-0 win over Bandari in the KPL but will welcome back Ivorian Ephrem Guikan, who suffered a concussion in a midweek clash against Tusker Wednesday.
