Mwalala hails ‘proper’ pre-season after Confed Cup heroics

Bandari FC head coach Bernard Mwalala has attributed his side’s impressive CAF Confederations Cup outing to the excellent pre-season training prior to the start of the 2019/20 season.

The Dockers have had a good run in the continental tournament as they are now a step closer to the group stages after eliminating Tunisia’s US Ben Guerdane 3-2 on aggregate on Sunday.

Bandari carried to Tunis a 2-0 advantage from the first leg and despite losing 2-1, they survived Guardane’s scare to advance to the tournament’s final qualification round.

The Kenyan Premier League (KPL) outfit had earlier eliminated Sudan’s Al Ahly Shandy on away goal rule after a 1-1 stalemate in the first round of the annual competition to set a date with Guerdane.

Speaking to Citizen Digital, Mwalala termed their triumph over the North-African side as historic while vowing that more is yet come from his young side.

“I think the exposure we had during our preseason where we played against some of the biggest clubs in Africa has really boosted our performance. We have to celebrate this win because it is historic,” said Mwalala.

The former Nzoia tactician has however challenged his strikers to rediscover their scoring form if they are to keep their momentum this season.

Ugandan talisman William Wadri squandered two open chances in the first half before coming to the rescue of his side at the death with his sublime strike that saw Bandari through.

“We need to utilize our chances, we had two clear-cut chances that went begging. I think we have a lot of work in our scoring chances,” he added.

The team is expected to jet back in the country on Tuesday ahead of their tight KPL schedule where they host Posta Rangers on Thursday before taking on Sofapaka two days later.

The Dockers who are unbeaten this season will pip Western Stima to the summit of the top-flight league with a win against Rangers.