Gor Mahia coach Hassan Oktay has admitted that he will seek help from outside to help know more about their next opponents in the Caf competition.
The Moroccan side finished top of Group A after amassing eleven points, while the Kenyan side returned second in Group D. The Kenyan champions have been paired to face RS Berkane from Morocco in the last eight of the competition, whose first leg will be played on April 7 in Nairobi.
Reacting to the draw, the Cypriot coach says he knows very little about the team and that he will ask for information from his ‘friends’ based abroad.
“The draw…it doesn’t make a difference for me because I don’t know them and we don’t have the technology to know them. I have requested some of my friends to give me more information about the team and what they have told me is that they like scoring goals but that is not enough, we need to know more about them, their top players, their system of play and many more.
“I am hoping that my friends will deliver the correct information as that is was we need, for now, I know it will be difficult but I am not worried,” said Oktay.
Oktay also admitted that his side will start the first leg a depleted side with five players Harun Shakava and Jacques Tuyisenge (two yellow cards), Ernest Wendo and Shafik Batambuze (red) and Boniface Oluoch (injury) both ruled out.
“Losing five players from your first eleven during such a crucial match is honestly a huge blow but we must stay focused and see what kind of a result we can get at home.”
In the other last eight pairings, Nkana FC will have a tall order against CS Sfaxien, who finished their Group B matches unbeaten and have won the competition four times and finished as runners-up once.
Zamalek who struggled in Group D, where they bounced from a slow start to finish top with nine points, will come up against a Hassania Agadir side, that defied all the odds to finish second behind Group A winners’ RS Berkane.
In the other match, Etoile du Saleh will also face a tricky opponent in Al Hilal of Sudan, who finished top of Group C, that had Nkana, Asante Kotoko and Zesco United, after managing three wins, two draws, and one defeat.