K'Ogalo turning Kasarani into a fortress?

Gor Mahia coach Hassan Oktay (right) is confronted by members of Hussein Dey technical staff during their CAF Confederation Cup Group D match at Kasarani Stadium on Sunday [Courtesy]

Gor Mahia coach Hassan Oktay believes qualification for the Caf Confederation Cup knockout stages will go down to the wire after claiming a hard-fought 2-0 victory over ten-man NA Hussein Dey, in Sunday’s Group D matchday three at Kasarani Stadium.

K’Ogalo left it late with goals from Francis Kahata and Jacques Tuyisenge moving them to the top of the table with six points, two ahead of joint second Petro Atletico of Angola and Algeria’s Hussein.

Petro, who beat Gor Mahia 2-1 on matchday two, frustrated Egyptian giants Zamalek to a 1-1 draw in Cairo.

And with back-to-back away tricky fixtures against Hussein and Zamalek coming before hosting Petro in the final match,  Oktay warned his troops against a repeat of last season’s mistakes.

Gor were in a similar situation last year before they complicated their quarterfinals qualification chances on match day five when they lost 2-1 to Rayon Sports of Rwanda at Kasarani.

“We are spot on. But frankly speaking, this a very tricky group and I think it will go down to the wire. Yes, we are making good use of our home advantage, but I think it is still too early to talk about the quarterfinals.

“We have been strong at home, getting all the six points and now we are looking for any point away. We cannot afford to drop points at this stage. We have two back to back away matches, expect a different approach from us.”

Tournament’s current joint top scorer Jacques Tuyisenge (Three goals), believes their recent big home wins over Zamalek (4-2) and Hussein (2-0), shows Gor Mahia are slowly transforming Kasarani into a fortress.

“We are confident as a team that we can win all our home matches. Beating Zamalek and now Hussein at home means everything is possible and we can make it to the quarterfinals.

“We have proven that we are no pushovers and Gor Mahia is slowly going back to where it’s supposed to be in continental football,” said Tuyisenge.

But just like Oktay, Hussein coach Meziane Ighil feels the last sixteen qualification is far from over.

“We were looking forward to a very tough match. Everything was made worse when we lost two of our key players through injuries early in the game. Gor Mahia have an advantage right now because they’ve had two home victories. But I think it’s not yet over because we still have return leg with them,” said Ighil.