- Esperance host TP Mazembe in Rades
- TP Mazembe won the first leg 1-0 in Dar es Salaam
- This is the inaugural edition of the AFL
The last of two quarter finals of the African Football League (AFL) go down on Thursday night, as the race for the inaugural title and the USD4mn dollars prize money intensifies.
Wydad Athletic will host Nigeria’s Enyimba in Casablanca while Esperance will host Congolese side TP Mazembe in Rades. Both Wydad and Mazembe carry identical 1-0 leads from the first leg and will proceed to the semis if they avoid defeat.
Esperance’s coach Tarek Thabet says playing at home will give them an extra advantage, and will look to make the most of it to progress.
The Tunisian side goes into the tie needing a win to progress to the last eight, having suffered a 1-0 defeat in the first leg in Dar es Salaam last weekend.
“Playing at home gives us a slight advantage, but it will not be easy. We need to improve in our scoring because that is the only way we will progress,” Thabet said.
The tactician rued the missed chances his side had in the first leg in Dar es Salaam, noting that it was his biggest point of concern.
Dominated the first half well
TP Mazembe head coach Lamine N’Diaye
“We dominated the first half very well and were unlucky to concede. But we had three or four situations which we should have scored. We lost the game but we have a second chance and I hope we can make our opportunities count,” the coach added.
Meanwhile, Mazembe coach Lamine N’Diaye believes they have a good chance to progress to the semi by picking up a positive result when they face Esperance in Rades.
The Congolese giants lead 1-0 from the first leg played in Dar es Salaam last weekend and they will only need to avoid defeat to make it to the semis.
“It will be difficult definitely but we will forget this score and start afresh. We will only be focused on getting a good score from that game and do the best to qualify for the semi-final. We have shown our capabilities and I believe we can do better,” the tactician said.
Fofana goal
Action between TP Mazembe and Esperance in the first leg
Cheick Fofana scored the winning goal in the 11th minute in Dar, and the tactician said he was impressed with how they played, though he wants a bit more improvement in Rades.
“We didn’t start the game very well and in the beginning it was a bit difficult. But we managed to settle down and the goal we scored really helped us a lot. We pushed hard and maybe in one or two instances we should have scored more but we have everything to work for heading away from home,” noted the Senegalese coach.
And now, he hopes they can step up and clinch a spot in the last four.
Mazembe arrived in Rades on Wednesday morning, two days after Esperance arrived and will have a lot more jet lag to fight heading into the fixture.
However, the coach believes this will not be an issue as his players are well experienced.
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