Nairobi United Boss Reveals Strategy to Finish Off Tunisian Giants as Ksh51 Million Beckons

Nairobi United may be holding a 2-0 first leg advantage in their CAF Confederation Cup but they are not resting on their laurels ahead of the second leg in Tunisia on Sunday.

The Kenyan side secured a surprise victory in Nairobi against 11-time Tunisian champions Etoile du Sahel last weekend and head to Sousse needing to avoid defeat and even a 1-0 loss will be enough to see them reach the group stages.

That would be a massive result for the Naibois as they were just promoted to the FKF Premier League four months ago while a group stage appearance will net them $400,000 (Ksh51 million) something many Kenyan sides struggle to achieve.

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Even with history beckoning, Technical Director Salim Ali is urging his team to keep their feet on the ground and avoid getting carried away by the weight of what lies ahead as they must focus on the first leg or risk getting eliminated.

“We are not thinking about history. Ours is just to give our best and then we see what comes out of it,” Ali told Telecomasia.

“We have showed in the first leg what we can do and we played really well. The only regret is that we should have scored more goals. But our ambition is clear, we want to ensure that we keep this same momentum in the return tie.

“We know it will be tougher, we know we will need to be alert and we are ready for that. We need to find a balance between attacking and defending, but definitely our priority is on exercising caution. We have something to protect already and we just need to balance how we approach the game.”

Unlike Nairobi United, who are still very young and tasting continental football for the first time, Etoile du Sahel have won this competition twice in 2006 and 2015 and were also Champions League winners in 2007.

The Tunisian giants, home to Harambee Stars defender Alphonse Omija, are regulars in continental competitions and reached the group stages of Confederation Cup last season, hence the need for Nairobi United to be wary even with their 2-0 first leg advantage.