One of Nigeria’ surviving clubs in the Total/CAF Confederation cup 2019/2020 season, Rangers
International F.C will be looking to turn the curve for the better this weekend as it takes the
battle cry for redemption to the capital of North, West African nation of Mauritania, Nouakchott
for a date with F.C Nouadhibou.
The encounter is a match day 3 fixture in group A of the second tier continental clubs cup
competition and coach Salisu Yusuf’ men have their backs against the wall and need to bounce back
to winning ways after going seven matches without a win in both domestic and continental actions.
The ‘Flying Antelopes’ though with a lot of injury worries to key players still have a large pool
of reserves to pick from for this first soccer battle in the Arabian nation against the reigning
league champions of Mauritania.
With the safe arrival of the 26-man delegation in Nouakchott, early Friday, the team settled down
nicely and look with optimism to the game on Sunday.
Attacking sensation, Kingsley Eleje, who just returned from an layoff is dreaming a win over their
opponent, F.C Nouadhibou who like Rangers is yet to hit the ground running in the group stage of
the competition, registering two losses apiece to Egyptian opponents.
“The game against Nouaghibou is really going to be tough considering the fact that they have lost
two games in a row and they want to win at all cost but the fact remains that we are a good team
that can win anytime and anywhere even though we are battling to win games. I believe we have the
qualities to come out victorious at the end,” stated the power playing forward.
On the position of the team in the group stage of the competition, Eleje said, “It is still very
possible for us to come back full and qualify for the quarter-final despite losing our last two
games. We can also win away from home to keep us on track .
It is not the end until the last day of the group games. Rangers is a team with so much qualities.
Every player in the team is very ready.”
No doubt, coach Salisu would have loved to have his full registered squad to chose his match day
team but would miss the services of Ifeanyi George, Pape Ousmane Sane, Ajani Ibrahim, Godspower
Aniefiok, Semiu Liadi, Akpos Adubi and a few more in this crack encounter.
Even with absence of these top performers, Coach Yusuf and his assistant, Mbwas Mangut, is full of
positive vibes going into this weekend’ encounter as Nnamdi Egbujuo makes a return to the match day
squad after missing out of three match days due to injury while Ibrahim Olawoyin, Chiamaka Madu and
Tony Shimaga will be screening the backline and giving adequate support to the front men in the
third quarter.
For the host team’ gaffer, Santiago Martinez, he would be relying on the experience of shot
stopper, Brahim Souleymane to stop the ‘Flying Antelopes’ from harvesting goals in the encounter
while looking to Hemeya Tanjy, Mahamane Cisse and Boubacar Bagili, Sidi Abdoullah Touda, Mohamed
Abdellahi, Mandala Konte and Jacob Ezechiel Deponde to help deliver the needed goods upfront.
For the Mauritanian league champions who celebrated their two decades of existence recently and are
one of the four teams that dropped from the more prestigious CAF Champions league this term, they
would be pushing to paint the entire Stade Municipal, Nouadhibou, in Orange color for the encounter
fixed for 20.00 hours on Sunday, December 29, 2019.
Rangers gaffer and Super Eagles chief coach, Salisu Yusuf who have brought in a new style and
philosophy of play to the Enugu landlords said as the team departed the shores of the country,
Thursday, “We are condemned to start winning games and I believe that our contributions to the team
will start manifesting soonest. Our opponent are champions of their league and we respect them for
that but we shall approach the game as if it was a cup final. Despite injury worries, we can still
walk tall at the end of the encounter.”
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Recall that Rangers lost its first two fixtures in the group stage to Egyptian teams, Pyramids F.C
1-3 in Enugu after having a player sent off on the stroke of half time and 4-2 loss to Al-Masry in
Egypt.
The return fixture against the Mauritanian league champions, F.C Nouadhibou will come up January
12, 2020 inside the main bowl of Nnamdi Azikiwe stadium, Enugu.