Despite suffering a 1-2 defeat in the hands of USM Alger in the first leg of their CAF Confederation Cup final in Dar es Salaam on Sunday, Yanga’s head coach Nasreddine Nabi says they still have 90 more minutes to fight.The Tunisian football manager has backed his team to give their all when, they travel to Algiers for next weekend’s return fixture and says, his team’s belief is not shaken despite their first loss at home in the tournament this season.“There are 90 minutes left and as long as we still have this chance, there is an opportunity. It is difficult but not impossible.CAFCC: USM Alger stun Yanga in Dar to grab advantage ahead of return tieI can’t promise the supporters that I’m going to come back with the Cup. But I say, we will fight to turn the tide. We have the means to do this because we have already proven it,” Nabi said after the match.In the game played at the Benjamin Mkapa Stadium, Alger’s Islam Merili emerged as the hero of the match, scoring a crucial 84th minute winner that propelled his team closer to their first-ever continental trophy.It was a goal that crushed Yanga’s hope who had just equalized two minutes earlier when Fiston Mayele’s goal cancelled Aymen Mahious’ 32nd minute strike.𝗙𝗨𝗟𝗟 𝗧𝗜𝗠𝗘⏱️| #CAFCCFinalYoung Africans SC 1-2 USM Alger It’s Not Over Until It’s Over 🔰💪#TimuYaWananchi #DaimaMbeleNyumaMwiko pic.twitter.com/aHS49yylTO— Young Africans SC (@YangaSCEnglish) May 28, 2023 Although admitting that the mission will be difficult, the 58-year-old has retained trust in his players who he says have what it takes to score away and turn the game into their favor.Looking back at the match, the Tunisian tactician was pleased with the performance of his players, but only unhappy that they could not convert their chances.“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% possession of the ball against a compact defense and very aggressive players in duels.##NAJAVA_MECA_7289638##This is why I say that nothing is finished. On top of that, we have the culture of scoring away from home,” Nabi said.The coach says they will have nothing to lose and will give their all to ensure they put an effort to clinch their first ever continental trophy.Yanga will need a win of more than two goals to progress, while a 2-1 victory will force the game to extra time and penalties.Matano throws jibe at Gor Mahia’s style of play in wake of barren draw in the clash of titansShould they win the second-tier continental club championship against USM Alger of Algeria, then, the Wananchi, as they are fondly referred to, will become the first Tanzanian club to do so.What more, they will shutter Gor Mahia’s 36-year-old record of being the only East African club to have won a continental trophy.
