Confident Yanga jet off to Sudan for CAF rematch

Dar es Salaam. The Mainland Tanzania Premier League champions, Dar es Salaam Young Africans (Yanga), left yesterday for Khartoum in Sudan via Ethiopia for their first round return leg of the CAF Champions League against hosts Al Hilal Omdurman.

The match will be held tomorrow at the Al-Hilal Stadium.

Their contingent comprises 52 people in total including 25 players, 11 technical bench staff members and the rest are officials and fans.

Yanga need a 1-0 win or a 2-2 draw to advance to the group stage or at least a 1-1 draw to level with Al Hilal Omdurman so that the match can be decided on penalties.

The Sudanese side, for their part, need victory or a goalless draw to sail through, courtesy of the away goal they scored in Dar es Salaam.

Yanga head coach Nasreddine Nabi said they are still in the race, although he rued the scoring chances lost by the team in their first leg.

“We created many scoring chances in the match, but we failed to convert them into goals. We are going to sharpen our striking force ahead of the return leg,” said Nabi.

The Tunisian said he is optimistic about doing well in the return leg, despite facing a strong opposition at the away venue. He said all the mistakes made in their first encounter have been rectified and his players have promised to fight hard and come out with a positive result.

“It is a fact that we are facing a tough assignment. In football, there is no easy match as what you are supposed to do is to prepare well. We are aware that we are going to face strong opponents, but we have prepared for that,” he said.

Meanwhile, Simba Sports Club’s rivals Primeiro de Agosto were expected to arrive yesterday ahead of their return leg tomorrow at the Benjamin Mkapa Stadium in Dar es Salaam. Simba need any draw to enter the group stage of the competition after having won 3-1 in their first leg played a week ago in Luanda, Angola.

Also, Azam FC face Al Akhadar of Libya, who are already in the country ahead of the CAF Confederation Cup encounter to be held tomorrow at the Azam Complex in Dar es Salaam. Al Akhdar won 3-0 in Benghazi last Saturday. Azam FC will have to beat Al Akhdar by at least four clear goals to qualify for the group stage.

For their part, Kipanga FC of Zanzibar have already arrived in Tunis, Tunisia, for the CAF Confederation Cup match tomorrow against Club Africain. A 1-1 draw will see Kipanga sail through.