Kennedy Musonda of Young Africans challenges Saadi Radouani of USM Alger during the CAF Confederation Cup 2022/23 final match between Young Africans and USM Alger held at Benjamin Mkapa Stadium in Dar Es Salam, Tanzania on 28 May 2023 ©BackpagePix
Monday May 29, 2023. 12:59
Young Africans head coach Nasreddine Nabi admits their task is “difficult but not impossible” to overturn a 2-1 deficit against USM Alger in the CAF Confederation Cup final.
L’Ittihad scored two away goals in the first leg at the Benjamin Mkapa Stadium on Sunday courtesy of Aymen Mahious (32′) and Islam Merili (84′), although the in-form Fiston Mayele kept Yanga’s title hopes alive when he briefly restored parity in the 82nd minute.
Mayele is now the competition’s top scorer this season with seven goals and Nabi believes his side still have a chance in the second leg at the 5 July 1962 Stadium in Algiers on Saturday, June 3.
The Tunisian tactician pointed to their away record as evidence, with the Tanzanian Premier League champions having found the back of the net in all but one of their six matches on the road, scoring seven goals in the process.
“There are 90 minutes left and as long as we still have this chance, there is an opportunity. It is difficult but not impossible,” Nabi said after the clash in Dar es Salaam.
“I can’t promise the supporters that I’m going to come back with the [Confederation] Cup. But I say, we will fight to turn the tide. We have the means to do this because we have already proven it.
“We saw that despite the fact that USM Alger is very compact defensively, we managed to create a lot of chances. We had almost 62 per cent possession of the ball against a compact defense and very aggressive players in duels.
“This is why I say that nothing is finished. On top of that, we have the culture of scoring away from home.”
