The K’Ogalo coach happy with his young side after they progressed to the last eight but insists a lot needs to be done if they are to win the trophy
Gor Mahia coach Hassan Oktay is not getting carried away despite his team cruising into the quarter-finals of the Cecafa Cup tournament with an unbeaten record.
The Kenyan champions completed their Group D matches with a 1-0 win against KMKM of Zanzibar, and the result came after they had secured a place in the last eight with wins against AS Ports of Djibouti and DR Congo’s AS Maniema.
Despite the good run which saw his side finish at the top of the group, Oktay still believes his charges have some work to do to be assured of winning the trophy.
“So far so good, I am happy with the progress of my team and especially the new players,” coach Oktay told Goal in an interview.
“I like the players because they are doing everything to make my work easier but they must keep stepping up in every game which we play. We are not there yet but it was a good way to make it to the quarters.
“We have to work on some few aspects before we play in the quarters. I will rectify a few mistakes and get the players ready but I am hoping we can win the trophy as we head into the new season.”
Gor Mahia will now face Green Eagles of Zambia in Wednesday’s quarter-final and Oktay hopes his players will have recovered by then.
“We will face a very fresh side, Green Eagles have rested for almost five days since they played their last Group match, but for us, we played on Sunday and will only have a day to rest on Tuesday,” he added.
“Eagles will have two more rest days and it is not good for the tournament because it gives them due advantage as they will have rested more than us before the match but I believe my boys will recover and do well.”
AS Maniema, who finished second in Group D with six points following a 2-1 win over AS Ports of Djibouti, will face three-time champions APR FC in the quarter-finals.
In other quarter-final matches, Rwandan champions Rayon Sports will play Uganda‘s KCCA, as Tanzania‘s Azam entertain African bigwigs TP Mazembe.
The semi-finals will be played on July 19 ahead of the final on July 21.
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