Nicknamed the Naibois, the FKF Premier League promoted side wrote a piece of history after securing a 2-2 aggregate draw and 7-6 penalty shootout win against Tunisian giants Etoile Sportive du Sahel in the return leg at Stade Olympique de Sousse on Sunday.
With a 2-0 advantage from the first leg a fortnight ago, United fell to two goals in either half courtesy of Rayan Anen, and substitute Ben Maazouz stoppage-time header for the aggregate score to stand at 2-2.
The outcome prompted the second preliminary round contest to be decided through penalties, and it was goalkeeper Kevin Oduor, who turned the hero for the Nairobi-based outfit. Having already saved two penalties, the youngster kept his cool again to deny Etoile their decisive seventh penalty.
The incredible save provided Nairobi United with an opportunity to seal the game if they converted their seventh penalty. Oduor stepped up, took in a deep breath, before sending Sabri Ben Hassen the wrong way for a 7-6 victory against the North Africans.
The qualification success saw United become the first Kenyan team to qualify for the group stages of any CAF competitions, the same season they had secured promotion to the top-flight from the lower division.
Nairobi United will surprise many teams
According to assistant coach Salim Ali, United’s focus has now shifted to the group stages, where they have set their sights on having a good campaign. He further said their mission in the competition was to go as far as possible, even to play in the final.
“The group stage is a very different ball game, it is not like the knockout stages, we will play three matches at home, and three matches away, so it is something that you will have enough time to prepare for accordingly, than when you only focus on a two-legged game to qualify,” said Ali.
“So if we get good results at home, and away, and remember Nairobi United is a very good side when playing away, we always get good results away, then again history will come back to Kenya.”
Kenyans clubs have always struggled when being pitted against North Africans opponents in CAF competitions including the Champions League, and even failing to progress beyond either the first or the second preliminary round matches for a ticket in the group stages.
On how far United can go in the tournament, he replied: “I think as far as we can, the belief of going for glory is there, and the players want to go as far as they can, so for us, the sky is the limit.
“The kind of players we have of course, we will need improvement is some key areas, we will beef up the squad, we have already listed the areas that needs a adjustments, and hopefully the office will support our course, and if we do that I am sure we will surprise teams in this competition.”
On the win against Etoile, he said: “Against them in Nairobi, we believed we could score more than two goals, and in Tunis we came with a very positive mindset. What I saw from the players was something amazing. I have never seen that before, but we came here knowing that we can do it as a team.
“We have a very young team, 90 percent of the players in the squad, this was their first time in this biggest stage, but we have worked with them in training and taught them how to play under pressure. You saw how we managed Etoile, we asked the players not to be under pressure.”
Their first preliminary round pitted Nairobi United against Ugandan Premier League side NEC FC, and they scored at the death to snatch a 2-2 draw away. The return leg in Nairobi saw the contest end in a 1-1 draw, with Naibois qualifying to the second preliminary round on the away goals rule.
United will be Kenya's only team in the group stages after FKF Premier League champions Kenya Police were eliminated from the Champions League following a 4-1 aggregate defeat to Sudanese champions Al Hilal.
