Chrales Nyende
6 July 2009
Nairobi — Knock-out football can be very uncertain. What is certain at the Cecafa Club Championship in Sudan as the tournament enters its quarter-finals stage on Tuesday is that a Kenyan team will be playing in the semi-finals.
Following the end of the group phase on Sunday night, Mathare United and Tusker finished second in their respective pools to book an all-Kenyan quarter-final showdown at the El Merreikh Stadium on Wednesday.
Tusker had looked certain to top Group C after a win and a draw but faltered in their last match, unexpectedly going down 2-1 to Inter Stars of Burundi at the Port Sudan Stadium.
Hey Al-Arab were meanwhile awarded the match against Miembeni of Zanzibar to top Group C.
Mysterious injuries
The hosts were leading 2-0 with 15 minutes to the final whistle when five Miembeni players dropped to the ground with mysterious injuries, forcing the referee to end the match.
Organisers termed Miembeni's conduct "unsporting" and promised to take appropriate action after studying the match report.
Hey Al-Arab and Tusker, who were based in Port Sudan for their group matches, were expected in the Sudanese capital on Monday.
Mathare United predictably trailed red-hot Group A favourites and host team El Merreikh, who face Inter Stars on Tuesday.
"We want to give the tournament a better show than what we have done so far," Mathare United coach Francis Kimanzi said, relishing the pressure cooker knock-out atmosphere.
The unexpected result in Group B - of KCC defeating highly rated guest team TP Mazembe of Democratic Republic of Congo 3-2 to claim the group's top spot - has given the Ugandan side the easier quarter-final match on Wednesday against Atraco of Rwanda, who qualified as the second best third-placed team.
So, are KCC thinking of claiming a title they last held in 1978?
Their coach, George Nsimbe, half heartedly deflected such talk: "We are just thinking of winning our next game. We expect the opposition to get tougher and we will concentrate on one game at a time."
In tournament top striker Robert Sentogo, with four goals so far, the athletic Ugandan team could go all the way.
Tougher path
TP Mazembe, conceivably, have the tougher path on Tuesday, needing to get past home boys Hey Al-Arab.
"I have said it before: We are using this tournament as preparations for our CAF Championships League campaign. But we are here to win the tournament," TP Mazembe coach Garzitto Diego said.
With 10 international players in their ranks, Mazembe are favourites to advance to the semi-finals.
All matches from this stage will be held at the 41,000-seater El Merreikh Stadium.
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