Ulinzi boss Nyangweso out finish Al Hilal early in return

Ulinzi Stars FC head coach Benjamin Nyangweso will set his team up to hit Libyan opponents Al-Hilal Benghazi FC early in the return leg of their  CAF Confederation Cup preliminary round clash as they seek to overturn a 1-0 deficit.

Nyangweso blamed their loss on Friday in Cairo on poor officiating but hailed his side for expressing themselves believing they have a chance to sail through to the first round when they host Al Hilal on Saturday in Nairobi.

Ulinzi travelled to the capital from their base in Lanet, Nakuru on Sunday evening to intensify training as they aim at progressing to the next phase of the second tier competition after Ahmed Abar 62nd minute strike saw them trail in the tie.

“The match was okay and we played well. They put pressure on us in the first 20 minutes but we knew that is the trick they would use to get the early goal. We contained the pressure and afterwards the game was balanced and we maintained our own pressure until the second half.

“We conceded a goal that looked it was scored from an offside position but the second assistant waved play on though everyone had stood including my defenders who knew it was offside,” Nyangweso who won the 2010 Kenyan Premier League title with Ulinzi told Citizen Digital.

The head coach who took over the team from Robert Matano after the latter was indisposed towards the end of last season rued their failure to convert the few scoring opportunities that came their way claiming they were denied a couple of spot kicks.

“We got our chances but we were not able to turn them into goals. We also had two penalty appeals that the referee denied us. In the first incident, the defender wanted to hit the ball with his head but missed it and according to me, his hand was moving when the ball hit it.

“The referee said that he did not see that and we were told to play on. There was a lot of favoritism but I hope things will be better on Saturday,” the Ulinzi boss charged.

-Time wasting-

Nyangweso further alleged the Al-Hilal players started to roll on the ground needlessly as the clock ticked towards full time to preserve their slim advantage as Ulinzi grew into the game in the closing stages.

“We still went on with our match and started putting pressure on them though they frustrated us through time wasting to make sure we do not equalize and to kill the tempo.  But all in all my players did a good job,” the Ulinzi tactacian added.

He urged the soldiers to work harder in pursuit of the 2-0 victory or better they need to advance to the first round warning the Libyans were a hard side to break down.

“That team is very tactical. They might come here and decide to lock the game without risking attack. We have five days to the return match and we will work on finishing, speed work and to keep a solid defence. We have to bear in mind that they are going to try to look for an away goal.

“We will try to hit them early before they settle down. That’s not a team you would want to waste time with because they know how to run the clock down. They might decide to start lying on the ground again,” Nyangweso underscored.

Ulinzi were expected to report to camp on Monday evening at Lower Kabete, Nairobi.

Nyangweso is optimistic their top scorer from last season, John Makwata will feature in the return leg after failing to travel to Cairo when he failed to secure his passport from the United Kingdom Embassy on time.

Makwata who won the KPL Golden Boot last season has been included in a Kenya select side that will play Hull City of the English Premier League in a friendly.

Ulinzi returned to continental football for the first time since 2011 when they played the CAF Champions League where they were thumped 5-0 by Egyptian giants Zamalek over two legs in the preliminary round, ending their interest in the competition at the first hurdle.