Taoussi, Benzarti upbeat about chances - Orange CAF Confederation Cup 2010

News Fixtures Matches & results Groups & standings Clubs Regulations Committee Photos Videos Trophy Past competitions

NEWS

Taoussi, Benzarti upbeat about chances

11-20-2011

Zoom

The coaches of the finalists of the 2011 Orange CF Confederation Cup have expressed optimism in their team’s chances ahead of the second leg in a fortnight in Fes.

Club Africain of Tunisia registered a lone goal victory over MAS Fes of Morocco in the first leg final on Saturday in front of 45,000 fans in Rades thanks to Alexis Mendomo’s spectacular volley on seven minutes.

Rachid Taoussi, head coach of MAS Fes in a post-match interview expressed conviction that his charges can overturn the tables in the return encounter especially with the slim margin.

He emphasized that all is not lost for his side citing their numerical advantage after the sending off Samir Zekroumi as one of the low points of the game.

“The final is played in two halves, the first is over and we will play the second halve at home. We will do our best to turn the tables and celebrate the title with our fans.

“We conceded an early goal but we played our normal game despite finishing the game with 10 players. We could have grabbed the equalizer but that did not work. I am sure we will do our best in the return encounter,” Taoussi said.

For Faouzi Benzarti, coach of Club Africian, the victory in Tunis marks the first step towards the title.

“We are satisfied with the victory and we achieved our goal of not conceding. We looked for an early goal to raise our confidence.

“We can grab a good result in the second leg and win the trophy despite the fact that our opponent are very strong and they gave us hard times here".

"MAS were not affected by the expulsion of their defender Samir Zekroumi because of their experience, while we lacked that on our bench. We tried to score more goals but that was not easy as they played a good game. Luck was not also on our side,” said Benzarti, who has guided Esperance and Etoile du Sahel to continental glory.

The second leg will take place on December 4 at the Complexe Sportif de Fes in Fes

RESULTS

ASEC Abidjan