Yanga SC head coach Sead Ramovic - Photo Courtesy Yanga Media.
Young Africans (Yanga SC) head coach Sead Ramovic is confident of getting a good result against ‘big team’ TP Mazembe in their matchday three fixture of the Caf Champions League group stage on Saturday.
The Timu ya Mwananchi are still searching for their first Group A win, having lost their opening two matches – 2-0 against Sudanese outfit Al Hilal and 2-0 against Algeria’s MC Alger – an outcome that dented their chances of qualifying for the quarter-finals.
Ahead of the must-win fixture at Stade TP Mazembe, Ramovic, who replaced fired Miguel Gamondi at the helm of Yanga, believes the Tanzanian Mainland Premier League champions have what it takes to stun Mazembe at home and return with maximum points.
“Our main target is to show that we have the ability to do a good job on Saturday, it doesn’t matter who we are playing against and how they are, as a team we know TP Mazembe is a big team with very quality players and it is the reason fans should anticipate a good game,” Ramovic told Pan-Africa Football ahead of the contest.
“I understand that the last game for Yanga here in Congo they managed to win but we can’t talk of the past now. Our focus is on the game against TP Mazembe, we look at it as a new game and we are ready to do everything and return home with maximum points.”
The fixture comes at the right time for Yanga as they will welcome three key players, who missed the away defeat against Alger. The trio of - Khalid Aucho, Clement Mzize, and Salum Abubakar – were not involved in Algers but have travelled with the team to Lubumbashi for the battle.
After the game against Algers, Ramovic admitted to have missed the services of the aforementioned players: “If you play without four starters who are key players, it’s not easy. These injuries undoubtedly affected our performance.”
He added: “We have 25 good players, but we need to improve our compactness and defensive organization. The first offensive action is to defend well because defending well sets the stage for better attacks.”
Yanga are lying at the bottom of the group without a point while Al Hilal are leading with six. MC Alger are second with four while Mazembe occupy the third slot with one point.
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