Kenyan champions will be out to give a good account of themselves when they take on Egyptian heavyweights Zamalek in the CAF Champions League first round return match on Friday at the Borg El Arab Stadium in Alexandria, Egypt from 8PM EAT. Tusker lost the first leg by a solitary goal in Nairobi and head to the tough hunting ground with an ambition of defying the odds and reviving their chances of advancing to the group stages of the lucrative tournament.Robert Matano’s charges will however have to worry of the poor results reaped by Kenyan teams against North Africa teams who have a rich history of making good use of home advantage to serve bitter football lessons to visiting teams.However, battle-hardened skipper Eugene Asike says after they touched down in Egypt and settled in camp, the team carefully reviewed the first leg video and identified their weak areas that cost them a win in Nairobi.##NAJAVA_MECA_5916834##The centre back who remained tight lipped on their chances of upsetting the hosts said the team was ready for the challenge and remained hopeful of an improved show.“We have reviewed the first leg clip, identified and rectified the mistakes that cost us victory at Nyayo. There is the desire to win amongst us and thus we have to play as a team for we are know we are a goal down. You need a lot of character when facing such an opponent and the players have to express themselves positively and better than the way we did in the first leg. This fixture means a lot in our careers,” said the former Sofapaka defender.Match Day.🆚| Zamalek SC🏟️| Borg El Arab Stadium, Alexandria⏰| 7pm Cairo, 8pm Nairobi🏆| CAF Champions League#Brewers4Life #KenyaMilele pic.twitter.com/XLTJQBo6XJ— 🏆Tusker FC (@tusker_fc) October 22, 2021 Matano who is expected to name a squad laced with more defence minded players has been on record insisting that White Knights are beatable despite having the upper hand.The veteran coach who chided his charges for respecting Zamalek much in the first leg will be glad to have all his arsenals available for selection apart from the late arrivals who missed on the registration. Should the brewers fail to tower past the Zamalek hurdle, their journey in the continental inter-club showpiece will not come to an end as they will be relegated to the Confederation Cup playoff.##NAJAVA_MECA_5918477##Meanwhile Zamalek have received a huge boost defensively ahead of the tie with the return of Mohamed Abdelshafy and Mohamed Abdelghani who missed the first leg. Attacking midfielder Ayman Hefny also returns to the team. The team will receive reinforcement, mainly on the defensive end, as Mohamed Abdelshafy and Mohamed Abdelghani will make their return after missing the first leg. Coach Patrice Carteron says they are focused on finishing the job. “We are in the early stages of the season and the team is still gelling. We will get better in the long run. There are many rumors ahead of the game on the media but we have ignored that. We are one group with one spirit.” He is quoted as saying by Zamalek News. The two legged fixture will serve as a curtain raiser to the group stages that attracts millions of cash prizes from CAF.
