Simba SC, and not Kaizer Chiefs, would have given Al Ahly a run for their money – Omollo

Gor Mahia coach Sammy Omollo believes Simba SC would have given Al Ahly a run for their money and not Kaizer Chiefs.

The Red Devils defeated Amakhosi 3-0 in the Caf Champions League final staged at Stade Mohammed V in Morocco on Saturday night.

The Egyptian giants were forced to wait until the second half to run away with the game, with goals from Mohamed Sherif, Mohamed Magdi Afsha, and Amr El Solia inspiring them to a well-deserved win over their South African opponents. Chiefs were reduced to 10 men after Happy Mashiane was sent off in the 45th minute.

Wekundu wa Msimbazi played the newly crowned champions in Group A, winning at home by a solitary goal before losing by the same margin away. They also played Chiefs in the quarters losing 4-0 away before claiming a 3-0 win at home.

Why would Simba give a better fight than Chiefs?

“Looking at Simba, their quality is a notch higher than Kaizer Chiefs and you could clearly tell that from the way they were playing,” Omollo told Goal on Monday.

“Chiefs were really lucky to make it to the final but, to be honest, I did not expect them to win. Getting it against a quality team like Al Ahly was not going to be easy. They were generally weak in all departments but Simba would have given [Al Ahly] a run for their money.

“Not that Simba would have won the final, I doubt, but we would have seen an interesting game than Saturday which was a one-sided affair.”

What went wrong for Chiefs?

The tactician went on to explain why Amakhosi struggled in the final which was their first in history.

“You cannot go into the final with a weak defence and an inconsistent one for that matter and expect to win,” Omollo added.

“They conceded in all their away matches except the semi-finals and their forward line was also inconsistent. Yes, some have argued that the [Mashiane] red card contributed to the loss, but to be honest, even if they would have played 11 against 11, they stood no chance.”