Gor Mahia head coach Dylan Kerr is hoisted high by fans.
NAIROBI, Kenya, May 17- Gor Mahia head coach Dylan Kerr remains optimistic that despite back-to-back draws in their opening two CAF Confederation Cup Group D matches, the dream of making it into the quarter final remains alive.
With Tanzania’s Young Africans playing to a 0-0 draw with Rayon Sport in the other group fixture on Wednesday, Gor retained their hold on second spot and Kerr now wants to see his side bag wins in the remaining four group matches.
“To be honest the group is massively open. It is achievable; we can win in this group. We have to think about it, if not maybe runners up, but we have to believe that we can win it,” Kerr said after Wednesday night’s 0-0 draw with Algerian side USM Alger at the Moi Sports Centre Kasarani.
The Gor Mahia team that started against USM Alger at the Kasarani Stadium on May 16, 2018 in a CAF Confederation Cup match. PHOTO/Raymond Makhaya
If they can manage to pick home wins against both Yanga and Rayon, Gor will hand themselves a massive chance of going into the quarter finals and Kerr who firmly believes they have the quality to do so has urged his players to work harder.
In both their opening games, Gor have created numerous scoring opportunities and failed to score, an area that Kerr wants his charges to improve on as a matter of urgency.
“It’s a million dollar question. I see it every day in training what we can do in front of goal. I just don’t think we have the luck. Maybe someone put a curse on us. I am hoping it’s gonna happen soon and we need to keep working on it,” the coach further added.
-Praise on charges-
Gor Mahia head coach Dylan Kerr salutes his players. PHOTO/Raymond Makhaya
He was full of praise for his charges on their performance against USM Alger especially after going down to 10 men with Joash Onyango sent to the showers for a second bookable offense 10 minutes after the restart.
“Once we were down to 10 men the pressure was on us to defend. I think my players were superb; Ephraim (Guikan) came to the party and worked his legs off, Jack (Tuyisenge) had to play a deeper role in midfield and he did it superbly well. We had the chances to score even with one man down but I think we leave happy with the point,” the coach further commented.
Gor Mahia head coach Dylan Kerr gestures on the touchline during the CAF Confederation Cup match against USM Alger at the Kasarani Stadium on May 16, 2018 in a CAF Confederation Cup match. PHOTO/Raymond Makhaya
He lauded his players for ‘running through brick walls’ for him and the supporters, putting in a shift of hard work against a tough opponent in very difficult playing conditions.
“We would have loved to win at home but we played against a very difficult opponent. The pitch was bad but we played football on it. We played one-two passes and it was great to watch these players,” the tactician further added.
With the next CAF Confederation Cup fixture almost two months away against Tanzania’s Yanga at home, Kerr will now switch his focus to the defense of their Kenyan Premier League crown and they get right into it on Sunday when they tackle Sofapaka in Machakos.
“We have really faced a challenging period playing nine games in 29 days which is very crazy. But we have to ensure every one is fresh by tinkering with the squad one or two times. Some may not like it but we don’t have quite a choice,” the tactician further noted.
With three matches at hand, Gor still enjoy a healthy six-point lead at the top of the standings.
