CAFCC: AS Maniema Union punished Nairobi United because of laxity – Ali

Nairobi United assistant admitted the Kenyan Premier League lost against AS Maniema Union of DR Congo in their first group stage game of the CAF Confederation Cup on home soil due to laxity from his players especially in the second half  of their matchday two contest on Sunday.

The Kenyan side registered their second defeat in the stage after losing 1-0 at Kasarani Stadium. Their matchday one away in Morocco against Wydad AC ended 3-0 in favour of the hosts.

Against Maniema, United looked the better side especially in the first half, dictating the tempo and creating numerous chances which they were not able to take away.

However, United were finally punished in the second when substitute Jaency Mboma scored what turned out to be the winner in the 66th minute. Mboma stole across at the near post to turn home a low cross from Chadoma Ozome.

United game had flair against Maniema than Wydad

“It is very bad to lose this way, especially in front of our fans in a game we dominated in the first half, we lacked concentration, and most important thing in such competition, you don’t need to win three or four goals, only one goal can make a change,” Ali said as quoted Flashscore.

“We gave our opponents an opportunity and now they have six points, they are now ahead of us, but we have four games to go. The first game away we lost, I am not really worried (with our position), because we created as many chances as possible.

“When you compare the away match against Wydad, and this one against Maniema, we had a flair, maybe sometimes when you play away, there is no that pressure, but when you come and play at home there is that pressure to perform, so I can take that for the team.”

“We told the players to try and convert the chances, but the second half was a bit difficult, because Maniema, they have experience in this level, they did manage the game, they were wasting time, but tactically they did very well.”

He added: “We didn’t get chances in the second half like the first half, and sometimes when you get chances in the first half, you have to score. When it came to the second half, because you are rushing, you definitely lose concentration and that is what we did, and we gave them an opportunity to score.”

United are now sitting at the bottom of Group B without a point ahead of their matchday three against Azam FC, who are also winless from their opening two matches.

⚽ Follow Pan-Africa Football across platforms for real-time news and stories.