ASFAR loss is behind us , says Rivers Angels coach Okon
Head Coach of Rivers Angels, Edwin Okon says the team has put the heavy loss they suffered in Saturday’s first group game against ASFAR Club behind them as they prepare to go into Tuesday’s encounter with South Africa’s Mamelodi Sundowns in their second group game at the ongoing TotalEnergies CAF Women’s Champions League in Cairo, Egypt.
The Nigerian representatives lost 3-0 to their Moroccan counterparts and have two more matches to play in the Group stage and must win all in order to stand a chance of qualifying to the final four of the Competition.
Okon says the team will go all out in Tuesday’s encounter and believes they can still get a win over the COSAFA Champions who won their opening game against Vihiga Queens.
“For now all is well with the team, we’ve rested enough and also had our first official training yesterday,” he stated.
“We will try to correct the lapses we had in our first game and ensure we give our fans back home a better performance tomorrow.
“Saturday’s loss is now behind us and the focus is on the one with Sundowns, we don’t intend to make it any easier for them or any other team going forward.
“Only way to get back our confidence is by getting the job done on the pitch on Tuesday and that will as well spur us into going further in this competition,” added Okon.
Also speaking ahead of Tuesday’s clash with Mamelodi Sundowns are Rivers Angels forward, Rose Ekong and goalkeeper, Charlotte Adjei.
The duo are optimistic that the team will make it out of the group to proceed to the next stage.
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Ekong on her part said “I have a lot of confidence because as it stands now the group is still open for us and I believe that we’re going to bounce back.
“As a team we are going to do better in the next game which is very important and we wouldn’t want to miss that opportunity,” she said.
Adjei also expressed her confidence on the team’s chances of qualifying from the group.
“We are going to give it our all against the South African team and ensure we come out tops,” she said.
“It is not over until it’s over so we still have what it takes to win and advance. We already learnt our lessons from the last game and intend to approach Tuesday’s game differently.
“I am sure we are going to qualify to the next stage of this competition. We still have the quality and strength to execute this,” added Adjei.
Tuesday’s TotalEnergies CAF Women’s Champions League Matchday two between Rivers Angels and Mamelodi Sundowns kicks off by 7pm Cairo time (6pm in Nigeria) inside the Al Salam stadium.