On August 24 at Moses Mabidha Stadium in KwaZulu Natal, Stellenbosch FC and Nsingizini Hotspurs will contest the second leg of the preliminary round of the CAF Confederations Cup. Stellies made a strong statement in the first leg, running out 3 nil winners on the day, and will look to put the tie to bed this weekend. The victory puts the South African team in a commanding position heading into the return leg, while Nsingizini faces an uphill battle to overturn the deficit. During an exclusive interview with Telecomasia.net ahead of the fixture, Nsingizini Hotspurs boss Alexio Sigion:
- Spoke about the positives from the first-leg defeat;
- Elaborates on how his side plans to shut down the Stellenbosch wingers;
- Touched on the team injuries;
- Reflected on the morale of his side ahead of the all-important clash.
So, in the last game, you were defeated 3 nil, but are there any positives from that?
Yeah, we took some positives. We will adjust our system; of course, there will be a different thing. They should expect (an) an attack from the first whistle because they say in football that you have nothing to lose, but no, we have (a) a good approach to play with what we want to achieve. That’s the most positive thing that we take.
Tactically, Stellenbosch was very good on the wings. I think two of the goals in the first half came from the right-hand side. How are you planning to defend that?
The plans were already there. We knew them; we had footage. We had the privilege that we saw them on SuperSport so we know their strengths. Yeah, it was slippery on the day, in one moment, but we are really, really prepared and know what they do and we are ready to encounter those moments and also to attack so they won’t give us much pressure.
Looking at the squad, are there any injuries to report on?
Yeah, we have one player that (who) is injured.
Is he a key player, an important player?
All our players are key players. We still assembled this team, and we haven’t played in camp. This was (the) first competition camp for us. So yeah, he started that game against Stellenbosch, so he is not on the team today.
The team, of course, has a 3-nil deficit. How’s the morale, how’s the mood? Are you looking to fight, or are they a bit disheartened with a three-nil scoreline?
To be honest with you, it’s a privilege to play in CAF. Those guys, in terms of morale, they are very high, the morale is high. Even we (the technical team), we are all motivated and we also keep the boys all motivated. We have the history in football: Bayern Munich-AC Milan came back, Barcelona and PSG came back, and Liverpool (verse) Barcelona came back, so guys, just watch those things, and you start believing in yourself. As footballers, they are watching those things, so they have that belief, that thrill, it can happen in football.
Stellenbosch FC is likely to use their Caf Confederation Cup match against Nsingizini Hotspurs as a warm-up for their crucial MTN8 semi-final clash against Mamelodi Sundowns. With a comfortable 3-0 lead from the first leg, Stellenbosch manager Steve Barker may opt to rotate his squad and give some fringe players an opportunity to showcase their abilities. On the other hand, the Eswatini side must produce a near-impossible comeback in the second leg to have any chance of progressing into the continental competition. Kick-off at the iconic Moses Mabidha Stadium is set for 15h00 local time.
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