The CAF Confederation Cup enters its Match Day four as Nigeria’s Rivers United take on Uganda’s Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA).
Spokesman of team, Sammy Wenjina said with every team in Group A winning its home match, nothing less is expected from Rivers United.
“It is a make or break time for the team. The section is extremely tough looking with all four teams in the group, FUS Rabat (Morocco), Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA, Uganda), Club Africain (Tunisia) and Rivers United (Nigeria) peerless at home thus far.
“This makes Tuesday’s game at the Yakubu Gowon Stadium Port Harcourt one that leaves little margin for error, for the Nigerian side especially, as any result other than an outright victory could mean curtains as far as their aspirations of reaching the quarter finals of the competition are concerned”, he said.
It will be recalled that KCCA won the reverse fixture 2-1 at the Phillip Omondi Stadium, Lugogo, Kampala on June 3; a result that lifted them from bottom to second place on the log; such are the fine margins in this group!
Head coach of KCCA, Mike Hillary Mutebi acknowledges that things are evenly poised on a knife-edge in the group and that goals difference could represent a tie-breaker eventually.
“We have not been effective so far as we should have won the (reverse fixture) 5-2. The result in Lugogo was not a true reflection of our dominance,” Mutebi told our official website, www.riversunitedfc.com.ng.
“The (issue) of goals difference is worrying so we have to try to outscore the opponent. In all our away games in the Confederation Cup, we have only failed to score against FUS Rabat and El-Masry; we always score away from home.
“Rivers United is a very good team but we (KCCA) are confident we can rub shoulders with them because we have tested the best,” he said.
Mutebi however frowned at what he called ‘time-wasting’ tactics employed by the Nigerian club in the first leg; sentiments echoed by his captain, Denis Okot Oola.
Okot however agreed with his coach that the ‘Pride of Rivers’ represents a solid proposition that could cause them more than a few problems on Tuesday.
“Rivers United has experienced players. (Bolaji Sakin) is huge and experienced and can outrun defenders. I expect them to play differently in Nigeria,” Okot said.