Kenya coach Benni McCarthy says his past meetings against his South Africa counterpart Pitso Mosimane have always been David versus Goliath affairs and Friday’s Africa Cup of Nations qualifier at the Orlando Stadium will be no different.
McCarthy has previously pitted his wits against Mosimane when he coached at both Cape Town City and AmaZulu and Mosimane was in charge at Mamelodi Sundowns.
“Coach Pitso has always had the upper hand because he has always been at places that had the infrastructures and the best of everything,” McCarthy said on the eve of the qualifying clash.
“And for me, you know, as a young coach, I always just tried to give my best and stay true to myself. Go out there and try and play the best way that I can, that can make it difficult for whoever you're up against, and sometimes we were fortunate.
“And on other occasions, we weren't as fortunate. So tomorrow is another one of those cases. It’s David versus Goliath, and unfortunately, I seem to be always David, I’m never Goliath,” he quipped.
“Tomorrow will be another battle I think technically, I've got a strong team. I've got a good team.
“And if we get things right, I think we can give them a run for their money tomorrow,” McCarthy added.
“That we give a good account of ourselves,” is how the Champions League winner responded when asked what his hopes for the Group D clash (live on SuperSport at 6pm) were.
“We're trying to build a squad and trying to figure out who the best players are in Kenya, so that by the time Afcon comes we have the right players for the tournament to help us go forward.”
Kenya are co-hosting the finals next June with neighbours Tanzania and Uganda.
“For us, it's to go out there and to give a good account of ourselves. And let Bafana sweat a little bit, let them sweat, because, obviously, you know, we lost against Guinea, we drew against Eritrea, so, it looks like a walk in the park (for Bafana), but I think just the performance, the attitude, the mentality that the players are going to show tomorrow, means that we can build for Afcon coming next year,” McCarthy added.
South Africa won their opening two Group D matches while Kenya have a single point from their matches in September.