Ahead of Rivers United’s CAF Confederation Cup clash with Bloemfontein Celtic, head coach Stanley Eguma said the team is ready for the challenge.
Rivers United face the South African outfit at the Dr. Petrus Molemela Stadium in Bloemfontein on Wednesday in the first-leg of a CAF Confederation Cup qualifying fixture.
The Nigerian side arrived South Africa on Sunday and held their first training session on Monday.
Update from Bloemfontein, South Africa
DONE: We have concluded our first training session at the Dr. Petrus Molemela Stadium in Bloemfontein.
We head back to the teams hotel.
Next: Clips and pictures from the training session.
Mayuku Charles
Media Officer
Rivers United FC pic.twitter.com/kGlowAp866— Rivers United FC (@RiversUnitedFC) December 21, 2020
Speaking ahead of the game, Eguma admitted that the South Africans will be hard nuts to crack, but his wards have come too far to let Nigerians down.
“We are expecting nothing but a tough match in South Africa and we have understood that this competition requires the best from the player, the technical crew and the management,” He told brila.net
“We need to work round the clock to ensure we get good results because as it stands now, the state government and Nigerians in general are behind the team and we can’t afford to let them down, not even at time that our brothers ( Kano Pillars and Plateau United) have been knocked out of the competition.”
“So we want to fight back and help Nigeria maintain its stance on the continent, so a lot is at stake and the players are aware of that, So we are ready for the match.”
While the Pride of Rivers are going into their third continental match with no league game under their belts this season, Bloemfontein Celtics on their part, have played seven, winning and drawing two and losing three.
Eguma said, he would have loved to see his side involved in domestic games as well in order to build good momentum for the match, but they are left with no choice than to double their efforts ahead of the match.
“Like i said, we understand that it is not business as usual, when we played Futoro Kings, we have not taken part in a league match, so the result is understandable.”
“But knowing that we are playing South African side who are very active in the league, we have to work harder to qualify for the next round.” He concluded.
The second of the match will played at the Adokiye Amiesimaka stadium in Port Harcourt next year January.
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