Ugandan pair: Yanga strikers Hamis Kiiza (left) and Emmanuel Okwi celebrate a goal during a recent match at the National Stadium. The duo will join the team in Cairo after their international friendly against Zambia. photo | file
What you need to know:
Yanga won the first leg 1-0 at the National Stadium last weekend which means they need a draw or victory of any margin in Cairo to sail through to the last 16.
Dar es Salaam. Young Africans assistant head coach Boniface Mkwasa expects an attacking Al Ahly side when they lock horns in the second leg of the first round of the Caf Champions League on Sunday.
Yanga won the first leg 1-0 at the National Stadium last weekend which means they need a draw or victory of any margin in Cairo to sail through to the last 16.
And Mkwasa does not believe in a defensive plan, promising that the Jangwani Street heavyweights will take the game to their opponents.
“They (Al Ahly) will be at home and considering that they will be searching for that game changer, we expect them to be more aggressive, but the best way to counter them is to match their aggressiveness.
“Yes, we have to defend cautiously, but being too defensive might cost us dearly. We have to take the game to them and that is what we will have to do,” said the outspoken coach.
“They have the experience, but I think we have the will, pace and skills which can unlock any defence and cause serious problems. So, we will have to rely on what we have and use it to our advantage,” he said.
Prior to the first leg, Mkwasa was tasked to watch Al Ahly’s Super Cup match against CS Sfaxien in Cairo where the former won 3-2.
“Had CS Sfaxien been too defensive, they would have conceded more goals, but they were attacking and gave Al Ahly problems.
“Al Ahly won thanks to their clinical strikers who converted a few chances that came their way, but I am confident Yanga will not concede sloppily,” he said
Mkwasa added: “We will attack them throughout the match and hopefully we will score. We’ve have strikers who can cause fear in the Al Ahly defence, so they won’t be free to move forward.”
Last weekend’s victory was Yanga’s first against the Egyptian and African champions and records show that the Tanzanian side has never advanced past any team from North Africa.
“History is against our ambitions, but we showed last week that records can be broken and the players are fired up ahead of the decisive match,” said Mkwasa. The former Yanga defender said the team will leave with 19 players with Ugandans Emmanuel Okwi and Hamis Kiiza set to join the team in Cairo. They are on international duty in Zambia.
Hassan Dilunga is the only notable Yanga player who will not travel due to sickness.
