Marumo Gallants caretaker coach Raymond Mdaka has refused to throw in the towel on their CAF Confederation Cup campaign.
Marumo were beaten 2-0 by Tanzanian side Young African in the first leg of the tournament's quarterfinals in Dar es Salaam on Wednesday.
Former Orlando Pirates man Bernard Morris and Stephane Aziz Ki were on target for the hosts. Mdaka strongly believes they will overturn the deficit in the home leg at Royal Bafokeng Stadium on Wednesday.
“Looking at the game itself, it's one game that we felt was not difficult. It is just that we couldn't convert our chances. On that basis, we feel we still have a chance to go to the semifinals. We strongly feel we can come back and win this tie,” Mdaka said.
Bahlabane Ba Ntwa soldiered on without three of their key men in Celimpilo Ngema, Lesiba Nku and Lebogang Mabotja, who are all sidelined by unspecified injuries.
Mdaka hopes they'll be fit for the second leg. “It's obvious that our starting XI will change in the return leg because today [on Wednesday] we missed some of our key players due to injuries. Ngema was not there, Nku wasn't there and Mabotja wasn't there as well because of injuries. We hope when we play the home leg, they will be available,” Mdaka stated.
“We were once in this situation [where they were without some of the key players away and lost, before winning at home when they had returned], remember when we played USM Alger and USM looked far better than the team we were playing today, not undermining them, but we feel we can still make it. For us is to go there and get an early goal, that would unsettled them.”
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