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Yanga out to finish off Vital’O… Azam, Coast seek redemption

FOUR Tanzanian envoys in CAF Inter club Competitions (Young Africans, Azam, JKU and Uhamiaji) are in action playing their second leg first preliminary round fixtures
Young Africa SC 2024/25 squad Young Africa SC 2024/25 squad

TANZANIA: FOUR Tanzanian envoys in CAF Inter club Competitions (Young Africans, Azam, JKU and Uhamiaji) are in action playing their second leg first preliminary round fixtures at four different venues today.

Aggregate winners after today’s games will cruise to the second preliminary round to play another two-legged game and the successful ones will venture into the group stage.

In the CAF Champions League (CAF CL), Yanga host Vital’O at Azam Complex in Dar es Salaam, with the former enjoying a 4-0 win advantage they sourced in the first leg duel at the same venue.

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Also, at Amahoro Stadium in Rwanda, APR will welcome Azam in a seemingly tough match as the latter cherish a thin 1-0 victory they stamped in the first leg match at Azam Complex last week.

Similarly, at 30 June Stadium in Egypt, Pyramids FC will face Zanzibar’s side JKU in the reverse clash of the Champion’s League and the former emerged 6-0 winners in the first leg.

In the CAF Confederation Cup (CAF CC), Al Ahly Tripoli will host Uhamiaji from Zanzibar at Tripoli International Stadium in Libya, with the former digesting a 2-0 lead they picked in the first leg duel at the same venue last week.

Tomorrow, Coastal Union will go face to face against FC Bravos of Angola at Azam Complex in the city as the host plots to make a major comeback after losing 3-0 in the first-leg clash in Angola.

Speaking at a pre-match briefing yesterday, Yanga Coach Miguel Gamondi said they are ready for the replay and are not looking at the previously recorded 4-0 triumph.

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“We have a fresh 90 minutes to play this game and we need to approach it with a winning mentality regardless of the results we produced in the first leg.

“I cannot say that we cannot concede five goals because in football, anything can happen but I do not see that happening since I have trust with my players and the team at large,” he said.

On his part, Vital’O coach Parris Sahabo indicated that they have sorted out all the challenges that led them to suffer a heavy defeat in their first-leg match.

“We have a new approach to the game and we will play to score because if we do not score, then we cannot win the match…we have to attack to get goals,” he said.

He also revealed that if they had played their first-leg encounter in Burundi, then Yanga could have been eliminated at this stage from the Champions League.

Also, Azam coach Youssouph Dabo highlighted that morale among his players is high as they want to advance to the second preliminary phase of the CL.

“We are aware that APR will give us a tense match but we have a strong squad capable to take us further into the competition, as such, we are ready for the battle,” he said.

His counterpart for APR Darko Novic also insisted that they have to make a positive comeback to earn a chance of moving on to the next round of the contest.