[ad_1]
Porcupine Warriors cap looks towards Saturday’s encounter with the Mauritanians in the Caf Champions League
Asante Kotoko goalkeeper Razak Abalora has stated that the club is determined to beat Mauritania’s Nouadhibou “for the fans” in Saturday’s game in the Caf Champions League.
The Porcupine Warriors will host the Orange Club in a preliminary round second leg at Accra Sports Stadium, a week after the two teams settled for a 1-1 draw in the first leg.
Kotoko has set out to reach at least the group stage in this year’s championship, without making it since 2006.
“I think I have experienced a lot and this kind of competition is not easy,” Abalora told his club’s media ahead of Saturday’s match, Footy-Ghana reported.
“We need ourselves, we have to be prepared to push the game seriously because we want to win the game for our fans and the club.”
“In this type of competition it is not easy but we are prepared for it [the challenge].
“This is an international competition, so there is a bit of a difference, there is a bit of maturity and a bit of quality as well. But for us, we play to win.”
“All I will say to our fans is to pray for us that we will give them our best.”
Two-time Champions League winners Kotoko were eliminated in the first round of the competition last season when they lost to Tunisian club Etoile Sahel.
“A draw is not bad, but I think if the refereeing was a little better today, we would have won the game,” Kotoko’s coach Maxwell Konadu told Silver FM after the first leg draw.
“However, a 1-1 away draw in the Champions League is better than a goalless draw.
“We have taken the 1-1 result in good faith, we will go home and work harder to make sure we beat them by at least one or two unanswered goals in order to move on to the next stage.”
Kotoko’s best performance in a continental interclub competition in recent times came at the Caf Confederation Cup last year, where she reached the group stage, finishing third in the standings.
