Kenya Police FC captain David Cheche Ochieng is confident his side will progress to the next round of CAF Champions League qualifying, saying they are well placed to do the job. He however urges caution, believing that their opponents Mogadishu City Club are capable of overturning their first leg deficit.
Having secured a 3-1 first leg lead at the Nyayo National Stadium last weekend, Police are most people's favourites to proceed beyond the first round of qualifying, as their visitors this weekend need to score at least three unanswered goals to proceed to the second round.
Going by the talk online, a sizeable crowd is expected at the venue Sunday 28 September to witness Police or their Somali based counterparts book a slot to face either Jamus FC of South Sudan or Al Hilal Omdurman of Sudan in the second round and Ochieng says that his side must be on top of their game to proceed smoothly.
The experienced defender, who missed the first leg clash due to suspension, will be available Sunday and he is happy to be in a winning position.
"We want to continue making history as we did the previous season when we won the Kenya Premier League. This competition is very important for us and we want to make history by reaching the group stages. We are working hard in training every day even as we pray to God to enable us make it that far,” the defender said during open training at Police Sacco stadium in Nairobi.
He however says that their opponents must not be written off at all.
"The job is only half done. We cannot say that it is complete. If it was, then we would not be spending time in training. We will not take the match lightly or relax but we will approach it seriously. We can only relax after 90 minutes,” Ochieng said.
He warned of Mogadishu’s threat despite being minnows on paper.
"You saw in the first leg how the match was evenly balanced in the first half. They are a very good team. The fact that they are playing in this level of competition shows that you cannot simply dismiss them,” the skipper insisted.
All said and done, Police will be overwhelming favourites to proceed to the next stage of the competition. Kick off on Sunday will be at 4 PM Kenyan time.