AmaZulu coach Benni McCarthy is of the sentiment that all the teams they’re with in the CAF Champions League Group B have equal chances of advancing to the knockout phase.
AmaZulu host Horoya of Guinea in their second group match at Moses Mabhida Stadium tonight (9pm). Usuthu and Horoya are pointless after suffering defeats against Moroccan giants Raja Casablanca and ES Sétif of Tunisia in their opening games respectively last week.
Raja and Sétif may be both on three points but McCarthy strongly believes it’s still anyone’s group to win. Only the top-two finishers progress to the knockout phase of this premier intercontinental club competition. The Usuthu coach appears to be pinning his hopes of securing a berth in the knockout phase on winning home games.
“After experiencing our first game in Morocco against Raja, I think every team in this group has equally the same amount of opportunities to qualify for the next round,’’ said McCarthy during a virtual media conference yesterday.
“Yes, it would have been amazing to win our opening game because it would have eased the pressure, but now we’ve got back-to-back home games [ they also host Sétif on February 25].”
McCarthy expects Horoya to be more physical than Raja in their approach. The AmaZulu mentor is confident they can still handle the Guineans’ physicality, provided they stick to their own philosophy, that’s characterised by moving the ball quickly.
“Horoya are very physical. They are more physical than Raja. Their players are more athletic and they are quick as well…so West Africans pose that kind of threat, that’s what we have to deal with. But I think we can counter that with our strength. Our strength is our stand,’’ stated McCarthy.
“When we play our game, we make it difficult for every team. TP Mazembe came here and they found out what we are all about because we went out there and played our normal game. I think if we can do that, we can compete against them to the strength that they have.
“They have to play to our strength. Our strength is getting the ball moving and getting the players on the ball in the right areas in the final third.’’
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