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COACH Sidi-Usman Abd’Allah of Enyimba International FC of Aba has expressed the confidence that his team would record a positive result against Djoliba Athletic Club of Mali in the CAF Confederation Cup.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Nigeria’s Enyimba will on Aug. 18 be aiming to turn the tide in their favour as they battle for a spot in the knockout stage of the competition.
The Aba Elephants, who slipped from the top of Group C table after a disappointing 0-2 loss away to Williamsville AC of Côte d’ Ivoire, now find themselves in the third spot with six points from four games.
Williamsville with seven points replaced Enyimba at the top of the table after their victory, while CARA Brazzaville of Congo also with six points are on the second position albeit with a superior goal difference.
Enyimba’s next opponents, Djoliba with four points currently lie at the bottom of the table.
The two-time CAF Champions League winners must now ensure that they win their remaining two matches against Djibola and CARA Brazzaville respectively to stand any chance of advancing to the next round.
They are away to Djoliba of Mali on Aug. 18 and end their group campaign at home against CARA Brazzaville on Aug. 28.
Abd’Allah, the club’s first assistant coach, who took over the reigns of the club from Paul Aigbogun, told NAN that he believed his boys were ready for the challenges ahead.
He noted that his team were conversant with their opponents’ formation and tactics having played them at home, adding however, that it would be a different ball game as the Malians play in front of their home crowd.
“We have to start working hard and immediately remove the memories of our last defeat by winning our next two matches and booking our ticket to the knockout phase of the competition.
“But first, we want to solely focus on our next game, which is against our Malian counterparts.
“It won’t be an easy match as our opponents have a lot of experience, especially playing in front of their home fans, but I believe we can come out good having defeated the same team 2-0 earlier on Match Day One.
“The Bamako-based team always like to take control of the midfield, stringing a lot of good passes together in an effort to wear their opponents down and can also be dangerous going forward.
“However, my players know what is at stake, so everybody is going to prepare hard. Our response to our last defeat has to be emphatic and swift. We need to begin to produce positive results, starting from Aug. 18.
“We have to convert our chances and also improve on our overall quality in every department of the team as we look forward to a good performance in Mali,” he said. (NAN)
– Aug. 8, 2018 @ 13:32 GMT |
Tags: CAF Confederation Cup: Enyimba coach confident ahead of Djoliba clash in Mali
