Sharks fired up: Muluya eyes another win in return leg against Djibouti outfit

After annihilating Arta Solar 7 in the first leg of the Caf Confederations Cup opening round, Kariobangi Sharks head coach William Muluya is eyeing an away win rather than a draw.

Sharks descended heavily on the visiting team, raking in 6-1 to set foot in the second round which will pit them against Ghanaian giants, Asante Kotoko.

The Ghanaians also sailed through without breaking a sweat after Caf slammed the door on their Cameroonian opponent Eding Sport FC for failing to confirm their participation on time.

Carrying a five goal advantage to the return leg set for next week, pundits opined that the Shield holders to go for a draw but Muluya insists he will rally his charges to scratch for a positive result which will guarantee them a place in the subsequent round.

“I am looking for a positive performance from my boys in the return leg. With a positive performance, we stand a chance of getting an away win. I know it’s humid there and we have to prepare ourselves and achieve our target.”

The former Mathare United coach said he was not surprised with the sharpness of his players in front of the goal, who delivered even with the absence of their last season’s top scorer Erick Kapaito who missed the match, owing to a calf injury.

Muluya threw in fast-rising Under-23 striker Sydney Simale as Kapaito’s replacement where he partnered with the experienced George Abege.

“I am not surprised with the results as we had prepared for it. We are normally a scoring team , having scored more than three goals in our last nine to ten matches. I am happy the boys extended the same at the continental level.”

The youthful coach heaped praises on debutantes Nixon Omondi and Tom Teka who joined the club recently from Kenya Police and Nzoia Sugar respectively.

Omondi, who made it to the scoring sheet in the match, was brought in as Bolton Omwenga’s replacement after the former decamped to KCB while Teka was poached to fill the void left by Pascal Ogweno, who crossed to Gor Mahia.

“They really played well and the rest of the players who have been here for a longer period accommodated them well. I am also pleased with the performance of the players who have struggled for playing time and made it to the starting eleven against Arta.”