Rayon Sports head coach Roberto ‘Robertinho’ Oliveira has warned Nigeria’s Enyimba FC that nothing is decided yet and his men are able to get work done on foreign soil as the two sides prepare to face off in the return-leg of their Caf Confederation Cup’s last eight tie.
The Brazilian’s remarks come just a day after his side were held to a goalless draw by the former African champions in the first-leg at Kigali Stadium. Both sides are in the quarter-finals of the continent’s second-tier club competition for the first time.
“It was a very difficult game. They played long balls while we maintained our ball possession football. Overall we were the better side, but their defence and goalie were solid. It’s now time to go back to the drawing board and prepare for the return-leg,” Roberto said.
Following their goalless draw, it was left for all to be decided come September 23 at Enyimba International Fc Stadium in the second-leg. A scoring draw will see Rayon through to the semis.
“We will push to score goals and win the game, and we have proved we can score and win matches on foreign soil.”
“I have confidence in my players, and the coaching staff. We want to register further history and we will do all we can to achieve it. Thankfully we didn’t concede on Sunday,” he added.
The Blues were inefficient in the attack with Kevin Muhire, Djabel Manishimwe, Bonfils Caleb Bimenyimana, and Eric Rutanga all squandering clear chances to break the deadlock.
“I would say my first three months could not be better, I have changed the club’s football landscape and instilled a sense of responsibility, confidence and ownership in players. In football, change starts with attitude and because of that, other teams have started to fear and respect us,” the Brazilian explained.
With Burundian Bimenyimana leading the hunt for goals, Rayon had several chances to find the back of the net but Man-of-the-Match goalkeeper Theophilus Afelokhai was alert to thwart them.
Meanwhile, Enyimba coach, Usman Abdallah, said that a goalless draw away from home is not a bad result as they gear up to host the return-leg on Sunday.
“We gave it our best in the first-leg, otherwise, the result could have been worse. I would say we have advantage since we are hosting the decider but we can’t afford to underrate Rayon Sports, we have seen what they are capable of,” Usman said.
In other first-leg fixtures of the quarter-finals, DR Congo’s AS Vita Club edged closer to the last four after thumping Morocco’s RSB Berkane 3-1 in Kinshasa, USM Alger lost 1-0 to El-Masry of Egypt in Cairo, while title favourites Raja Casablanca defeated CARA Brazzaville 1-0 in the Republic of Congo’s capital.
Rayon Sports advanced to the quarter-finals along with USM Alger at the expense of Kenyan giants Gor Mahia and Tanzania’s Young Africans.
Source: The New Times
