Tanzania champions, Young Africans is upbeat it has all the reasons for victory in their 2nd 1/8th round first leg clash against Angolan side, Sagrada Esparanca in Dar es Salaam on Saturday.
The encounter is billed for the 60,000-capacity National Stadium in Dar es Salam, with Yanga as the Tanzanians are fondly referred to, looking for a possible ticket to the last eight of the second-tier continental club championship for the first time in their history.
The encounter is billed for the 60,000-capacity National Stadium in Dar es Salam, with Yanga as the Tanzanians are fondly referred to, looking for a possible ticket to the last eight of the second-tier continental club championship for the first time in their history.
The only time the capital-based club reached the group stage of a major continental club championship was in 1998 in the CAF Champions League, where their exited without a win a group that included eventual winners ASEC Mimosas (Cote d’Ivoire), Manning Rangers (South Africa) and Raja Club Athletic (Morocco).
Ever since, they have lived in the shadows of that record.
Ahead of the match, Head Coach Hans Van der Pluijm says his side is buoyed by victories in their last matches on the domestic scene since suffering a 2-1 loss to Egyptian giants, Al Ahly in Alexandria.
The defeat to Ahly saw them relegated to the CAF Confederation Cup from the prestigious
CAF Champions League 3-2 on aggregate.
The Dutchman admits he has little knowledge about Esparanca, but will go on the attack in the first leg to get a result that will make the second leg a mere formality.
“We are confident and we are in good shape. All the players are motivated to make things settle in Dar es Salaam. We don’t know much about them (Esparanca) but we will stick to our attacking football and get to know them as the game goes on.
“It will be a good thing if we win the first leg and if possible to win it by a good goal margin. It will make things easy in the return leg,” said Pluijm.
Yanga will yet again be depending on the on-form striking trio of Simon Msuva, Donald Ngoma and Amissi Tambwe, who have 44 goals between them so far in the Tanzania Premier League, to aid their quest for a convincing victory.
Captain Nadir Haroub, nicknamed ‘Cannavaro’ due to the similarity in his style of play to the legendary Italian, adds that his colleagues are poised for victory.
“It’s our only chance to qualify for group stage. We lost the CAF Champions League chance and we cannot afford to lose in the Confederation Cup too.
“If we adhere to our training and play well, we can win at home and put one foot at the group stage, unless the second leg will be tough in Angola,” said Haroub.
The second leg will take place between 17 and 18 May in Angola with the winner advancing to the pool stage.
Fixtures
Friday, 6 May 2016
Etoile du Sahel (Tunisia) vs Mounana (Gabon)
Ahly Tripoli (Libya) vs Misr Makkassa (Egypt)
Saturday, 7 May 2016
MO Bejaia (Algeria) vs Esperance (Tunisia)
Stade Malien (Mali) vs FUS Rabat (Morocco)
El Merreikh (Sudan) vs Kawkab (Morocco)
Young Africans (Tanzania) vs Sagrada Esperanca (Angola)
Sundowns (South Africa) vs Medeama (Ghana)
Sunday, 8 May 2016
TP Mazembe (DR Congo) vs Stade Gabesien (Tunisia)
Ever since, they have lived in the shadows of that record.
Ahead of the match, Head Coach Hans Van der Pluijm says his side is buoyed by victories in their last matches on the domestic scene since suffering a 2-1 loss to Egyptian giants, Al Ahly in Alexandria.
The defeat to Ahly saw them relegated to the CAF Confederation Cup from the prestigious
CAF Champions League 3-2 on aggregate.
The Dutchman admits he has little knowledge about Esparanca, but will go on the attack in the first leg to get a result that will make the second leg a mere formality.
“We are confident and we are in good shape. All the players are motivated to make things settle in Dar es Salaam. We don’t know much about them (Esparanca) but we will stick to our attacking football and get to know them as the game goes on.
“It will be a good thing if we win the first leg and if possible to win it by a good goal margin. It will make things easy in the return leg,” said Pluijm.
Yanga will yet again be depending on the on-form striking trio of Simon Msuva, Donald Ngoma and Amissi Tambwe, who have 44 goals between them so far in the Tanzania Premier League, to aid their quest for a convincing victory.
Captain Nadir Haroub, nicknamed ‘Cannavaro’ due to the similarity in his style of play to the legendary Italian, adds that his colleagues are poised for victory.
“It’s our only chance to qualify for group stage. We lost the CAF Champions League chance and we cannot afford to lose in the Confederation Cup too.
“If we adhere to our training and play well, we can win at home and put one foot at the group stage, unless the second leg will be tough in Angola,” said Haroub.
The second leg will take place between 17 and 18 May in Angola with the winner advancing to the pool stage.
Fixtures
Friday, 6 May 2016
Etoile du Sahel (Tunisia) vs Mounana (Gabon)
Ahly Tripoli (Libya) vs Misr Makkassa (Egypt)
Saturday, 7 May 2016
MO Bejaia (Algeria) vs Esperance (Tunisia)
Stade Malien (Mali) vs FUS Rabat (Morocco)
El Merreikh (Sudan) vs Kawkab (Morocco)
Young Africans (Tanzania) vs Sagrada Esperanca (Angola)
Sundowns (South Africa) vs Medeama (Ghana)
Sunday, 8 May 2016
TP Mazembe (DR Congo) vs Stade Gabesien (Tunisia)
By: Cafonline.com
RSS Feed