Prisons seek consolation bronze against Nigeria Customs
Kenya Prisons players celebrate a point against Carthage of Tunisia during their Africa Club Championship semi-final match at Aissa Ben Nasr Hall in Kelibia, Tunisia on April 28, 2021.
What you need to know:
- Carthage Eagles square off with Sfaxien in Kelibia in all-Tunisian final
- Lung’aho guided Prisons to the continental title in 2013, the last time a Kenyan team won at this level.
Kenya Prisons coach David Lung’aho has urged his charges to approach their bronze medal match against Nigeria’s Customs on Friday cautiously as they look to end the Africa Clubs Championships on a high.
Prisons, without six key players who are currently with the national team preparing for the Tokyo Olympics, lost to Tunisian giants Carthage 3-0 on Wednesday while Customs lost by a similar margin to another home team CS Sfaxien in the semi-finals.
Tunisian champions CS Sfaxien will clash with their local nemesis Carthage from 12 midnight on Friday here at the Aissa Ben Nasr Hall in Kelibia.
The final will be preceded by the third place play-off clash between Prisons and Customs from 5pm.
Lung'aho insisted Customs were no pushovers especially after stunning Kenya’s other representatives Pipeline 3-2 in their Pool “B” clash which effectively saw the Oilers miss out on the semi-finals.
“They have been the surprise package of this tournament and it’s not going to be easy. I expect a very tricky match because they are unpredictable. They are playing some short balls through the middle and picking a lot of balls at the back so we have to be at our best to beat them,” said Lung’aho.
Inexperience has proved costly for Prisons at key moments during this championship and Lung’aho will be counting on the trio of Brackcides Agala, Lydia Maiyo, Diana Khisa to provide leadership for his youthful charges.
“If you compare our team with Pipeline, of course we have more experience and I expect that to help us cope with the pressure from the Nigerians.
“They put Pipeline under a lot of pressure throughout the game but I know we can handle such situations better,” noted Lung’aho.
Third place finishers automatically qualify for the next edition. Therefore, a bronze medal for Prisons will open up the possibility of Kenya fielding three teams next year.
“A lot is at stake, of course we want to play well and take something home. Unfortunately, Kenyan teams could not come here at full strength this year but us winning will be good for Kenya."
“If we can have three teams next year and this gives more players a chance to play at this level and boosts our chances of winning this competition,” said Lung’aho, who guided Prisons to the continental title in 2013, the last time a Kenyan team won at this level.
