Big week for AFC and Gor: Kenya’s representatives start at preliminary level against unknown clubs

For the love of the Team; "Mashemeji" derby Gor vs AFC Leopards During the Super cup match between Gor Mahia and AFC Leopards dubbed “Mashemeji “derby at Afraha stadium in Nakuru on January 28,2018 ,This Kogalo fan and Ingwee leopards fans “priests” arrived at the stadium in style, each of them clad in a robe and a hat and a “bible”, all in their respective teams colours, perhaps to pray for their respective team .and when the final whistle was blown Gor was declared the champions after trashing the leopards 1-0.Often chaos are experienced when this clubs meet but this fans were spotted discussing how the match was and eventually shaking hands. Other fans also were spotted donned in all manner of things just to express their Loyalty to their team .Photo:Kipsang Joseph/Standard

Leopards host Madagascan side while K’Ogalo welcome Equatorial Guinea opposition in continental duels.

Kenyan giants AFC Leopards and Gor Mahia return to the continental scene this weekend hoping to go further than they have done in recent seasons.

Gor Mahia, the reigning Kenyan Premier League champions, host Equatorial Guinea side Leones Vegetarionos in a preliminary match of the CAF champions league at Machakos Stadium on Saturday.

Cup Champions AFC Leopards host Madagascar side Fossa Juniors in a preliminary match of the Confederations Cup at Bukhungu Stadium on Sunday.

Gor, the KPL champions, are scheduled to take on Sudanese side Al-Hilal today at Machakos Stadium in a match that will give coach Dylan Kerr an indication of his preparedness for the fixture.

Gor Mahia got off to a flying start after thrashing Nakumatt 4-0 at the weekend, a result that has left Kerr excited about the up-coming continental match.

“It is a tough game for us considering that we don’t know much about our opponents. We are going into the match blind but they have probably had a chance to see some of our games.

“My work is to prepare the players mentally so that they can focus on picking positive results and understand what is at stake in this match,” he said.

Kerr, however, insisted that it is too early to rate his team’s strength based on only one match.

“It was a good game against Nakumatt but was disappointed with the score line. We created at least 12 clear chances and should probably have scored more goals. But compared to our Saturday fixture, that was a different ball game. The expectations are different. Furthermore, we also have to get used to the new stadium in order to get it right,” he added.

Kerr said today’s international friendly match would give him an opportunity to test all his players ahead of the Champions League fixture.

For AFC Leopards, they are returning to continental football for the first time since 2014 when they took part in the Confederations Cup and were edged out by SuperSport of  South Africa.

The team drew 1-1 against Posta Rangers in their league opener at the weekend. 

Coach Robert Matano said he was determined to get a good result at home to make the return fixture a mere formality.

“We are expecting a tough opposition but we are ready for them and expect to pick good results at home,” he said.

In a related development, both clubs will not be required to pay fees for match officials following a recent directive by CAF that they will take up the same. This comes as a relief to the clubs, who lost their shirt sponsorship after Sportpesa withdrew.