YOUNG Africans Head Coach, Nasreddine Nabi has hailed his players for winning the CAF Confederation quarterfinal’s first leg against Rivers United but cautions his charges that they still have the second leg and need to do even better at Benjamin Mkapa Stadium this Sunday.
The victory has placed them one foot into the semi-finals of the Confederation Cup after edging out Nigeria’s Rivers United 2-0 at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium in Uyo.
“I am delighted to win because it is not easy to come to Nigeria and win. We played well and took our chances, but the game is far from over.
“We still have the second leg and need to do even better to ensure we qualify,” said Nasreddine Nabi, the Yanga instructor.
Fiston Mayele’s second-half brace earned Yanga the massive victory.
Mayele fetched goals in the 73rd and 81st minutes of the game.
Yanga’s skipper Bakari Mwamnyeto assisted him in both goals.
Mayele has, therefore, snatched five goals in the interclub competitions.
They will now have all the advantage heading into next weekend’s home tie in Dar es Salaam, where they will be staring at a first-ever continental semi-final appearance if they win their second leg.
The counterpart coach, Stanley Eguma, described the defeat as a lesson they needed to learn while pointing out their failure was due to the absence of key players.
“I will say it was a bad day for us. We needed to get our acts right. We had some scoring chances in the first half, but we couldn’t convert until the opponents scored in the second half. They equally got the second from a counter.
“I believe we have learned our lessons, and some of our missing key players would have made some difference for us,” Eguma said after the game.
According to their club’s report, Rivers missed Morice Chukwu due to suspension.
Other players who didn’t play were Joseph Onoja and Paul Acquah who are nursing injuries. In addition, Williams Ukeme and left-back Ebube Duru were subbed during the game due to injuries.
Other Confederation Cup games staged over the weekend included Ivorian side Asec Mimosas over Tunisia’s US Monastir.
In the first leg, Mimosas scored a barren draw against Tunisia’s US Monastir.
On the other hand, Algeria’s USM Alger beat their neighbours AS FAR Rabat 2-0 at the Stade 5 Juillet.
Pyramids secured a home draw against South African debutants Marumo Gallants. The two sides played to a 1-1 draw in the first leg.
