Sports
FIDELIS Ilechukwu, Head Coach of Plateau United Football Club of Jos says, an intense and a disciplined effort by his team was the key to their victory against ASO Stade Mandji of Gabon.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Plateau United defeated ASO Stade Mandji of Gabon 1-0 in Abuja on Sunday in the second leg match of their first preliminary round fixture in the 2022/2023 CAF Champions League.
Victory meant they advanced to the second preliminary round, after a 3-2 aggregate victory.
Both sides had played out a 2-2 draw in the first leg match of their fixture at the Stade Franceville on Sept. 10.
Ilechukwu who spoke to newsmen at a post-match conference hailed his side for their performance in what he said was a must-win game.
“We had an absolute necessity to win the game and I am glad we did it in an intense and disciplined way.
“It was a top-level game between two top-level teams as our opponents made it tight for us and forced us to play their game in the early stages of the match.
“We weren’t able to keep the ball and dominate possession which is our normal pattern of playing
and resorted to using long balls which wasn’t very effective in the final third.
“But we were more settled and stepped our game up in the last part of the game as we dominated play, especially in the midfield and that was key to our victory,” he said.
He however admitted that his team would have to raise their game a little more and maintain a good level of focus against a very tough opponent in their second preliminary fixture.
NAN also reports that Plateau United next take on a more experienced Tunisian side, Espérance de Tunis.in a two-leg second preliminary round.
“We are very much aware of the quality our next opponents possess and we know we have no choice but to raise our game a little more if we hope to progress.
“We play a similar pattern and like to dominate possession just like our North African opponents.
“So, we will go back and perfect our strategy to ensure we improve and get our passing patterns right,” he said. (NAN)
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Tags: Fidelis Ilechukwu Plateau United Football Club
