Tusker FC’s shot at history will face a stern test on Sunday afternoon when they take on Tunisia side CS Sfaxien in the first leg of the CAF Confederation Cup play-off round at the Nyayo National Stadium.
The brewers have never qualified to the group phase of the Confederation Cup and a good victory at home on Sunday will earn them ab advantage ahead of next Sunday’s return tie in Sfax.
Coach Robert Matano remains confident that his team is ready, and more importantly have learnt from mistakes in the previous matches, including the double loss against Zamalek in the Champions League.
The coach has said the team has shaped up in their attack and defense and says they look ready to get a good result at home.
“The team has shaped up very well and we have hope and confidence that we will do better. When you lose games, you have to learn from your mistakes and that is why we have been working on improving what we have not done well,” said the coach.
“We have worked on defending as a block and also had some sessions with the strikers to ensure that every chance we get we utilize.”
“We are facing a good team but we have looked at them and analysed them and made a good game plan to tackle them,” the coach said.
The same sentiments are shared by skipper Eugene Asike who says;
“It will be a tough test for us against a team which is more experienced than us in this competition, but we have worked to ensure we are ready to battle and fight for a win at home, to get a result which we can defend away from home,” the defender noted.
Sfaxien have won the Confederation Cup three times and reached the semi final of the Champions League in 2014. However, since then they have not been their usual selves and are playing continental football for the first time in four years.
Tusker hope they can earn an edge and battle for a win on home soil.