Rangers International of Enugu coach, Gbenga Ogunbote has fired his lads up for another historic win over Union Sportive Medinat Bel Abbes (USMBA) of Algeria in their next match of the CAF Confederation Cup.
Footballlive.ng can report that Rangers will host USMBA this weekend in the round of 16 first leg tie at Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium, Enugu while the reverse fixture holds a week later in Algiers, after which the winner will progress to the second-tier continental competition’s group stage.
Though now dubbed ‘the comeback kings,’ Ogunbote said it is not something The Flying Antelopes must flaunt, as the gaffer says he is seeking less anxious routes to victory.
A special preview of the match by cafonline reveals that The Coal City side, though, will have to live up to their billing as ‘the comeback kings’ in order to get ahead of their Algeria foes this weekend.
Last month, Rangers completed a double win – 2-0 at home and 3-1 away – against Defence Force SC of Ethiopia in the preliminary round, on the back of their Federation Cup triumph on penalties against Kano Pillars. To pick the Cup, Rangers overcame a 3-0 deficit to tie scores at 3-3 at the expense of Kano Pillars to qualify for this year’s CAF Confederation Cup.
Speaking against the background of recent poor performances of many Nigerian clubs on the continent, Ogunbote agreed that Rangers must stand tall against USMBA, who beat Lisor of Liberia 4-1 on aggregate.
Ogunbote, who lost narrowly to Club Africain of Tunisia in the 2011 CAF Confederation Cup semi-finals with Sunshine Stars of Akure, said: “Our comeback in some recent matches is not a question of strategy rather we always play to our strength.
“We sometimes conceded cheap goals but we don’t give up easily especially when we realised that we are better than the opposing team.
“I feel very great after winning both the home and away match against Defence FC of Lesotho in the last round.
“After the first leg, there were criticisms here that we didn’t play well, but we went over there for the second leg and got an away win.
“These victories home and away confirmed our superiority and I want to give thanks to God for that.
“Though many Nigerians teams have not done well against North African teams recently, I believe there’s always a turnaround in life.
“We need to work harder in order to get very far in this competition; we shall do our best and make sure that they do not stop us at this stage.”
