Gor Mahia captain Harun Shakava has rued the absence of lead strikers Jacques Tuyisenge and Dennis Oliech during Wednesday’s Caf Confederation Cup’s 2-1 defeat at the hands of Petro Atletico.
Tuyisenge and Oliech starred as the Kenyan champions easily defeated Egypt’s Zamalek 4-2 in their opening Group ‘D’ match of this competition in Nairobi last week.
This duo was – however – missing in action during Wednesday’s game in Luanda owing to suspension and a foot injury respectively.
“Every team has got dependable players and so yes, we missed them. They (Tuyisenge and Oliech) are currently on form and I am certain they would have made a difference here,” explained the burly Shakava.
At the Estadio 11 de Novembro, Gor Mahia coach Hassan Oktay replaced Tuyisenge and Oliech with Francis Mustafa and Erissa Ssekisambu.
But the two foreign strikers appeared to struggle to break down a resolute Angolan rear-guard which was manned by the agile Elber in goal.