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Bandari played out a barren draw with Al Ahly Shendi in a dull Caf Confederation Cup preliminary round first leg match at the Moi International Sports Centre in Kasarani on Saturday.
Bandari coach Bernard Mwalala blamed the result on his midfield, saying they did not create any realistic chances.
“I cannot blame my strikers for not scoring. The midfield was totally off, but all the same all is not lost, we still have a chance in Sudan and we will try and rectify the mistakes. It is not normal for Bandari not to create chances so really we have to go back and work ahead of the return leg," Mwalala said after the match.
“We really did not know our opponents and their style of play, but we now have an idea of what they are capable of and we will give it a good fight in Khartoum in the return leg," he added.
Shendy Coach Mohammed “Mazda” Abdalla said they will bank on home support in the return leg.
“The result now means the return leg is a 50-50 affair and we will try to play more offensively in the return leg and avoid conceding. Our preparations were not really good and physically we are not our optimum yet and we had to be tactically on top while playing away.”
“At home we will have the support of our home fans and that could make a big difference. We will give it the best and hopefully proceed to the next round.” He added.
After a slow start, Bandari’s first real chance came in the 27th minute after Abdallah Hassan intercepted a back pass in the box, but Shendi did well to block his path and parried the ball away for a fruitless corner kick.
Shendi could have had the opening goal five minutes later, but Bandari keeper Michael Wanyika did well to deny Musab Kurdban, punching his shot off the edge of the box back into play. Yasir Mozamil also shot wide a minute after the breather.
Bandari tactician Bernard Mwalala brought in Benjamin Mosha for Darius Msagha in the 52nd minute and Wycliffe Ochomo for Collins Agade in the 57th minute in an obvious attempt to sharpen the attack, but the changes had no effect as the Dockers continued to struggle upfront.
Musab Kurdman forced Bandari custodian Michael Wanyika into a fingertip save with a fine shot at the hour mark as Mwalala made another change two minutes later bringing in Shaban Kenga for Abdalla Hassan.
William Wadri found Ochomo with a good pass on the edge of the box in the 79th minute, but the burly striker’s first touch let him down and Shendi defender Mohayad Ahmed cleared the ball out of danger.
Shendi made just one change in the 80th minute, Mohammed Humidan replacing Kurdman.
The two teams meet for the return leg in Sudan in a fortnight.
