Barr. Isaac Danladi has assured Nigerians that his Nasarawa United players are up to the task when they confront Club Sportif Constantine of Algeria in the CAF Confederation Cup, second round, second leg duel on Saturday evening.
The Solid Miners scraped a 1-0 win over the Algerians in the first leg in Abuja on Sunday, and the return encounter at the 40,000 –capacity Stade Chadli Hamlaoui on Saturday evening will be a session to savour.
“We have been talking to the players, even before we left Nigeria. Certainly, the one goal win in Abuja is slim and we cannot rely on defending that. The coach and players have agreed that we will have to go all out.
“After we defeated AS Generation Foot 2-1 in Nigeria, very few people gave us any chance of scaling the first round hurdle. But we played our hearts out in Senegal and got to the stage.”
Danladi insists that the players, as well as Coach Kabiru Suleiman Dogo, are learning a lot with regards to the special demands of African football on the road.
“We are learning so much. And I believe that these lessons will help us to go far in the competition.”
Nigerian champions Enyimba FC are all but through to the third round of the CAF Champions League after a 5-1 whiplash of Vital’O of Burundi in Port Harcourt. Stephen Chukwude and Mfon Udoh bagged a brace each, and this weekend’s clash in Bujumbura could see the People’s Elephant earning another win.
Nigeria’s second flagbearers in the Champions League, Warri Wolves, lost 0-1 to El Merreikh of Sudan and have a mountain to surmount in Omdurman.