Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) Football Club head coach Mike Mutebi confessed that his side’s failure to make either the CAF Confederations group stage means that they have failed on one of their seasonal objective.
Mutebi, who sounded very confident prior to the match against AS Otoho and claimed that his team were capable of over turning a 3-0 result, seemed to have conceded defeat as the opening 45 minutes ended without a goal for his team.
“We have failed to achieve our target of reaching the group stages. But the performance was above average. We played with determination and clarity,” he said.
KCCA were eliminated from the CAF Confederations Cup group stage playoff round by Congo Bissau side AS Otoho yesterday and have failed to reach the group stages of either CAF competitions for the first time since Mutebi took over.
The Kasasiro boys went into the match in search of a 4-0 scoreline but goals from striker Patrick Kaddu in the 63rd minute and a late penalty by youngster Allan Okello helped the Kasasiro boys to a 2-0 win. It was not enough as they were eliminated 3-2 on aggregate.
Heavy rains before kickoff made life difficult for the hosts who prefer to play short and slick passes. The ball could hardly move well on the waterlogged astro turf at the StarTimes Stadium. But Mutebi said he will not put their failure down on the rain.
“That is not an excuse at all. Yes, it didn’t help us circulate the ball well as we could have done but that is just an excuse,” he said.
AS Otoho head coach Badru Alou congratulated his team for being able to hold out and get the result that they needed. He went on to say that he has nothing but admiration for KCCA and their fans who were behind their team despite the bad weather.
“I salute my team for qualifying to the group stages. The opponents also gave us a perfect challenge. Despite the bad weather, fans came to cheer the team. I commend them as well. KCCA is a young team, promising a lot,” he said.
The Congolese side thus books their place in the lucrative stage of CAF Confederations Cup while Mutebi and KCCA now turn their focus on defending the Uganda Cup with a trip to Buhinga to face Tooro United.
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