Olunga’s coach reveals reason behind dominant display

Michael Olunga's head coach Christophe Galtier has revealed his team talk that propelled them to a 5-2 triumph over Muaither in a rescheduled Qatar Stars League on Wednesday, April 17, 2024.

Olunga scored a brace in what was another top performance for the Harambee Stars captain after a full recovery from a recent injury.

Unlike in the first half, Al Duhail were more dominant in the second half as they went on to win big and the French tactician revealed the secret behind the output.

“I spoke to the team players during halftime about the need to deal strongly on the field, which we succeeded in doing.

"We started well and managed to score in the first minute of the second half, which made the match go in one direction. What was noticeable was the clear effort exerted by the players despite the fatigue, as everyone was performing as required and with a present mentality.

"The team was one unit even though the match was not easy, as we faced a team that entered the field in search of victory to secure their presence in the league and to avoid relegation," Galtier told the club's portal.

Preparation

The coach said this game was a good preparation for their next duty in a domestic competition.

"I spoke to the players and told them that this match comes as part of the preparation for the Amir Cup, which is very important and we still have two matches that we want to win," he added.

The big win came after Olunga's side faced a disappointing outing in the Super Cup and the response of the team was lauded by the coach.

“It was a great victory after our disappointment in our last match in the Super Cup to Shabab Al Ahly and our loss in stoppage time.

"But we managed to play a very serious match and the players were diligent from the start and we managed to score twice but the opponent managed to reach the equalizer after each goal due to the mistakes we made," Galtier continued.

Two players were specifically praised by Galtier even though Olunga was on target twice.

“Both players Tahseen Mohamed and Rashed Al Abdullah managed to appear well during today’s match and presented what was required of them, especially since Rashed managed to score the team’s fifth goal.

"The strikers scored 4 goals, which reflects the team’s offensive effectiveness," he concluded.