By Adeboye Amosu:
Enyimba head coach, Usman Abdallah, is confident his side can claim a place in the final of the CAF Confederation Cup at the expense of Raja Casablanca despite going down to a 1-0 defeat in Aba in the first leg of their semi-final fixture,
Completesportsnigeria.com reports.
Abdelilah Hafidi netted the decisive winner five minutes after the break to hand Enyimba their first defeat at the newly renovated Enyimba International Stadium, Aba in the first leg.
Stanley Dimgba missed the chance to equalised for the two-time African champions few minutes later after missing from the spot.
The People’s Elephant no doubt have a tough task at hand as they look to overcome a Raja side that are unbeaten in 10 matches and have lost just once in their last 15 matches.
Abdallah’s men will also have to contend with a vociferous 70,000 fans at the Stade Mohammed V, Casablanca.
Despite the enormity of the task before his side, Abdallah is adamant they can turn the table against the North Africans.
“We didn’t have enough time to rest before the first leg due to our participation in the Aiteo Federation Cup which affected our performance,” Abdallah told reporters ahead of the game.
“But things are quite different this time around as all the players have had enough rest since the first leg and are fired up for the game.
“Now we are focused on the game on Wednesday. It is going to be a difficult encounter but i can confidently say we are ready for the task.
“I know a lot of believe the tie is over after what happened in the first leg but we are going to prove them wrong. We will fight hard to prove our doubters wrong.
“Now we know the Raja team better than before and we are also working on certain tactical strategies that will give us victory in the game. We will do everything we can to make Nigeria proud.”
Enyimba preparations for the game have been boosted by the return to full fitness of the duo of goalkeeper Theophilus Afelokhai and Ifeanyi Anaemena.
Ghanaian goalkeeper, Fatau Dauda has also returned to the team following his suspension due to disciplinary issues.