Kenyan champions Gor Mahia will face Moroccan side RS Berkane in the quarter-finals of the CAF Confederations Cup.
Following a draw conducted by Confederation of African Football (CAF) in Cairo, Egypt yesterday, K’Ogalo’s fear was confirmed as they face another draining trip to north Africa to take on the Moroccan side.
In the draw, Gor will start at home on April 7 before heading to Morocco for the return leg a week later. Given K’Ogalo won all their home games to qualify for the last eight, they will be expected to notch another home victory and hope for a draw away to sail through to the semi-finals.
However, Gor’s away form will need to improve if they are to get a result in Morocco, given they lost all their matches on the road at the group stage.
The Moroccan club is a relative minnow in continental football but defied their underdog status to stage a remarkable campaign. They topped a pool comprising two other Moroccan clubs in Hassania Agadir and Raja Casablanca as well as Congolese side Otoho d’Oyo.
Berkane set an impregnable lead after five rounds of matches and only lost the last group game to Hassania Agadir, long after a quarter-final berth had been pinned. They scored 10 goals in the group stage and soaked in five and a duel against Gor is deemed a fair challenge.
The winner of the two-leg quarter-final tie will take on either Tunisian giants CS Sfaxien or Zambian side Nkana FC who have been paired together in one of the four last eight matches.
