Nigerian clubs face tricky continental duels

The fight for places in the group stages of the two most important club competitions on the continent will be rounded up this weekend and the four Nigerian clubs are up against formidable opponents who are standing in their way to the group stages of their respective competitions.In the CAF Champions League, Nigerian champions, Kano […]

The fight for places in the group stages of the two most important club competitions on the continent will be rounded up this weekend and the four Nigerian clubs are up against formidable opponents who are standing in their way to the group stages of their respective competitions.
In the CAF Champions League, Nigerian champions, Kano Pillars left the shores of the country yesterday on a chartered flight to Congo Democratic Republic for the return leg of their final preliminary match against AC Leopards. The other CAF Champions League campaigner, Rangers of Enugu will play host to Vital’O of Burundi tomorrow at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International stadium Enugu.
Lobi Stars took a 3-1 advantage to Mozambique where they locked horns yesterday with Liga Muculmana of Maputo. The match was on as at the time of press. Nigeria’s other Confederation Cup representative, Heartland will face Union Sportive of Gabon today in what appears to be a very difficult game for the Naze millionaires from Owerri.
Out of the quartet, Pillars, Rangers and Lobi Stars look good to progress in their competitions because of the results they posted in the first leg matches. While Kano Pillars mercilessly dealt with the reigning CAF Confederation Cup winners from Congo DR 4-1, Lobi came back from a shocker in the first minute of their match against LDMM to beat the Maputo club 3-1. Rangers on the other hand secured a valuable 0-0 draw away from home which put the Coal miners in a good position to progress.
Meanwhile, the same cannot be said of the Naze millionaires who struggled to beat Union Sportive of Gabon 2-1 at the Dan Anyiam stadium Owerri. This means they are facing an uphill task this afternoon in Libreville.
Although their opponents may not be football minnows, the four clubs have expressed readiness to put smiles on the faces of their teeming fans. For Kano Pillars, their recent 3-2 away victory over ABS in the Nigerian Professional Football League, NPFL, is enough motivation to go and confirm their supremacy over Leopards.
Moreover, Pillars are among the most supported clubs in the country. Fully supported by the state government and their ever vociferous supporters, Kano Pillars FC is now the most dreaded club in the country. They may not boast of the credentials of Nigeria’s most successful clib, Enyimba FC of Aba but Pillars have proved in recent times that it is on the path to emulating the heroics of the peoples Elephants.
Consequently, Pillars match against Leopards offers the club from the ancient city of Kano the opportunity to prove in words and deeds that it is ready to win another Champions League trophy for Nigeria. Pillars came really close in 2009.
The General Manager of the club, Alhaji Abba Galadima told Weekly Trust that Pillars are motivated to win this year’s competition. He, however, said they are going to take the matches as they come.
 Galadima assured the team’s teeming supporters that Pillars will get a decent result against Leopard in order to progress to the group stage of the competition.
“We are fully ready for the match on Saturday. We have motivated the players and we believe that they will do their best. At the moment, we are not doing badly and we hope to continue this way.
“Our target is to win the champions league to prove clearly that we are the true champions of Nigeria. However, we shall continue to take the matches as they come. Against Leopards, we are going for the maximum points”, he stated.
Pillars prolific scorer, Bello Kofar mata said the match against Leopards is a must win. He said even as Pillars defeated their opponents 4-1 in the first leg in Kano, it is not enough reason to get complacent. Kofar mata said there is still a lot to play for this evening.
“It is true we defeated AC Leopards 4-1 in our home but that does not call for complacency. If we could beat them with such a wide margin who says they cannot do the same against us. This is why we are not going to take anything for granted.
“We shall play them as if this is just the first leg. We know the consequence of undermining our opponents. They are not minnows. Don’t forget they are the current holders of the Confederation Cup”, he said.
Against Vital’O of Burundi Rangers are looking good to progress on account of their goalless draw away in the first leg but it appears the star studded team is not ready to take anything for granted. Instead of lowering their guard, Rangers have vowed to put in everything to record a comprehensive victory.
Sannusi Sani who spoke to Weekly Trust said Rangers would win by not less than three goals. He said even as their opponents are also in a good position to progress, they will meet a highly motivated Rangers on Sunday. He said going by the present spirit in the team’s camp, he does not see anything stopping his team.
“We are ready to do battle against Vital’O of Burundi. The away draw has put us in a better position but we are not looking at that as an advantage. The result keeps us on equal level and whoever wins on Sunday will progress. We are hoping to emerge victorious.
“Although I do not want to underrate our opponents, I do not think they will escape defeat in our hands. Even in the first leg, we played better just that the goals refused to come. I can confidently tell you that going by our level of readiness, we would beat them not less than 3-0”, he assured.
Pillars, Rangers and Lobi could move on to the next stage but Heartland look to be in troubled waters. Apart from the slim 2-1 victory recorded in the first leg which put them in a precarious position away from home, the club also known as the ‘millionaires’ cannot boast of the kind of financial support and motivation that the other clubs enjoy.
From all indications, Heartland is suffering from poor motivation and soon, the bubble might burst. This is one of the reasons the ‘millionaires’ may not come back with the desired result from Libreville.
However, the club’s Media officer, Mr. Cajetan Nwokpara told Weekly Trust that Heartland will successfully defend its 2-1 lead.
He said everything is in place for the ‘millionaires’ to defend their win and progress in the competition. Nwokpara said the players are officials of the team are in high spirits.
“As I talk to you we are at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport Lagos getting set to jet out for our match. I can tell you that we are confident of defending our 2-1 victory.
“We are going for another win against US Bitam. Even if we cannot win, we would make sure we get a result that would take us to the group stage”, he promised.
Such is the confidence exuded by the four clubs. However, as they confront their opponents in these dicey duels, they must match action with words or else they would leave their teeming fans with misery and heartache.