CAF Confederation Cup
ENYIMBA COACH, OSHO, CONFIDENT OF CONFEDERATION CUP GLORY
Coach Fatai Osho has expressed confidence over Enyimba becoming the first Nigerian club to win the CAF Confederation Cup.
The two-time African champions are in a tough-looking Group A alongside Orlando Pirates of South Africa, Algeria’s Entente Sportive Setif and Al Ahli Benghazi from Libya.
Enyimba qualified at the weekend when they pipped Nigerian rivals, Rivers United 5-4 on penalties after the two-legged tie finished 1-1 on aggregate.
‘The People’s Elephant’ open their group campaign at home on March 10 against Ahli Benghazi.
“It’s a tough group, I believe none of the teams is comfortable with this pairing,” admitted Osho, who calls his own brand of football “Sugar Football”.
“All four teams are very experienced playing on the continent.
“We respect our opponents, but we remain positive and our immediate target is our first game against Benghazi at home,” Osho said.
“Victory in our opening game will certainly put us in a good position but it will be one match at a time.
“We have a good chance of winning this trophy.”
This will be Enyimba’s fourth appearance in the competition with their best performance being three years ago when they reached the semi-finals.
Dolphins, now part of Rivers United boast the best Nigerian performance when they were beaten finalists in 2005, while Sunshine Stars are also past semi-finalists.
Zamalek commenced their CAF Confederation Cup journey with a 1-0 win over Kenya’s Police in the initial leg of the second preliminary round held in Nairobi this Saturday.
Veteran winger Abdallah El-Saied secured the win for the Whites with a precise strike from outside the box just a minute before halftime.
The Cairo giants, winners of the 2023-2024 CAF Confederation Cup title, started the match with relentless pressure on the hosts to clinch victory in the first leg and alleviate pressure before the upcoming return fixture in Cairo next Friday.
“The most important thing for us was to win and achieve our target,” Zamalek coach Gomes said after the game.
Hosts Police FC of Kenya could not breach Zamalek’s resolute defense in search of an equalizer.
Despite notable summer acquisitions, Zamalek’s coach Jose Gomes opted for a standard lineup, integrating young talents in lieu of seasoned players.
“We are now stronger than the previous season, thanks to spending more time with the team and preparing to play in the tournaments that we will participate in,” the Portuguese coach added.
Conversely, Kenya’s Police FC squandered a clear scoring opportunity against Zamalek, missing a crucial chance fifteen minutes before the final whistle, dashing hopes of leveling the score.
Kenya’s Police FC earned their place in this round following a hard-fought 1-0 aggregate victory over Ethiopia Coffee SC.
-Ahram
Nigeria’s Enyimba played a thrilling 0-0 draw with Burkina Faso’s Etoile Filante in the first leg of the CAF Confederation Cup second round tie in Bamako on Friday.
There have been three previous confrontation with Burkina Faso teams and this Friday encounter was the second time that Enyimba had had to face Etoile Filante.
According to facts supplied by Opta Nigeria, Etoile Filante were Enyimba’s first ever opponent on the continent 22 years ago in March 2002. Ever since, Enyimba have played 157 times on the continent; the highest by any Nigerian club.
Enyimba carry their advantage to the return leg to be played on 22 September.
Nigeria’s sole survivors in the CAF Confederation Cup,Enyimba will face Burkina Faso sides, Etoile de Filante in the second round of the competition.
Enyimba drew bye in the preliminary round while the Burkina Faso team reached the second round after eliminating Hafia of Guinea.
Enyimba, second runners-up in the Nigerian League will be attempting to win the Confederation Cup for the first time for Nigeria as they did in the Champions League 21 years ago.
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