KCCA FC’s Head Coach, Sérgio Traguil, has explained that his team’s departure from the 2023/2024 TotalEnergies CAF Confederations Cup was due to a shortage of experience.
The team from Lugogo faced an exit from the continental competition despite their 3-2 victory over Libya’s Abu Salem at St Mary’s Stadium in Kitende.
In the match, Usama Arafat netted two goals for KCCA FC, while Muhammad Shaban added one. Abu Salem’s goals were scored by Mohamed Elghadi and Abdulmunem Aiyelan.
Following a 3-1 loss in the first leg in Tunisia, KCCA FC needed a 2-0 victory to advance. However, the Libyan side progressed with a 5-4 aggregate score.
KCCA FC had aspired to replicate their 2017 success when they advanced to the group stage (last 16) of the CAF Total Confederations Cup by defeating Egypt’s Al Masry. Regrettably, they couldn’t meet the challenge this time.
Traguil emphasized that his team performed well in the return leg, but their earlier loss in Tunisia had already sealed their fate. He cited inexperience as a significant hurdle that affected their performance and gave their opponents an advantage. Traguil mentioned that, especially in Tunisia, his team could have performed better, but their lack of continental experience led to costly errors.
“As I mentioned before this match, having a young squad in such a critical situation, where important things are at stake, sometimes leads to inconsistency. We could have done better, especially in Tunisia. We didn’t manage the game well, made some mistakes, and basically handed Abu Salem opportunities,” he added.
“Despite also having a youthful team, they displayed experience in their strategy. We, as opponents, weren’t pleased with their tactics, including time-wasting and ball disposals. However, that’s their strategy, and it demonstrates their experience, which my team still lacks,” stated the KCCA FC coach.
Nonetheless, it’s important to note that while Coach Traguil pointed to KCCA FC’s inexperience, the team received a bye in the first round of the qualifiers as Abu Salem SC was engaged in a contest with Tunisia’s Olympique Beja to reach this stage.
KCCA FC will now shift their focus to the Uganda Premier League, where they will host Maroons on October 3rd, 2023.