BOOST FOR ULINZI STARS: As marksman Makwatta returns for Al Hilal duel in Confederations Cup

Ulinzi stars players celebrate their third goal against Kariobangi sharks during the GOTV shiled match at Afraha Stadium on October 1,2016.Ulinzi won 4-1.PHOTO:KIPSANG JOSEPH

Ulinzi Stars have been boosted by the availability of Kenyan international John Makwatta ahead of this Saturday’s CAF Confederations Cup return leg match against Libya’s Al Hilal Benghazi at Kasarani Stadium.

The 2016 Kenyan Premier League golden boot winner missed last Friday’s 1-0 away defeat to Al Hilal in Cairo due to passport related issues.

Makwatta is in the Sportpesa All Stars team, expected to travel to the United Kingdom to play Hull City in a friendly match on February 27.

The former Nairobi City Stars striker’s passport had been flown to the United Kingdom embassy in Pretoria, South Africa for Visa processing affecting his involvement in the Cairo clash.

Although Makwatta will be in contention for Saturday’s return leg, Ulinzi Stars vice chairman Major Joe Birgen expressed his disappointment at how the organisers handled the player’s passport issue.

“We really missed Makwatta in the first leg. Maybe, the score would have been different if he was around.

“He was to travel on Wednesday night but his passport had not yet returned from Pretoria. We have incurred a lot of expenses on the player. Unfortunately, nobody among the organisers has apologised to us. We thought they would come and explain to us about the delay,” Birgen told Feverpitch.

“But we finally have the passport with us now, so he (Makwatta) will definitely play on Saturday. It will not be an easy match, but from how the boys played in Cairo I am confident we can reverse the result.”

Birgen’s sentiments were echoed by the team’s head coach Benjamin Nyangweso, who hit out at their away offside goal.

“It is not an easy match because they are a very tactical team. But if we work hard and minimise on our mistakes, it is a result we can overturn. The players are working hard in training and hopefully we will be at our best,” Nyangweso was quoted on the club’s website.

“They scored when my defenders stood back thinking the referee would be calling for an offside which he didn’t. But we gave in a very good match and we had chances which we failed to use. This is one of the things we are looking at for the return leg. We should use our chances.”

The soldiers will have to win by two clear goals on Saturday for them to sail through. The winners on aggregate will face Egyptian side Smouha SC in the next round of the competition.