Kaizer Chiefs have a difficult but doable task in their quest to overturn a 1-0 deficit in their second leg clash against Zambia’s Red Arrows on Friday night. The CAF Confederation Cup second preliminary round fixture is being taken to the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban, with kick-off at 6pm.
In the first leg last weekend, Chiefs suffered a sucker punch 1-0 loss to the Zambians at the Levy Mwanawasa Stadium in Ndola, Zambia on Saturday. Allassane Diarra scored with a header from a corner kick late in the second stanza, sending Chiefs supporters into a state of despair.
With qualification for the group phase of the competition at stake, Amakhosi goalkeeper Renaldo Leaner is of the opinion that the team going out to do battle for the badge will be immensely helped by a large turnout of the fantastic Amakhosi faithful to fill the stands and create the atmosphere that makes home advantage really count.
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Fans urged to turn Durban into a fortress
Leaner believes the support from the Khosi Nation is imperative to Chiefs’ ambitions to progress further. “This game is very important for the Club. Our goal is to advance to the group stage. We are a big team and we are in a big competition. We need our fans out in number to support us because in Zambia their fans made it a bit of an ‘intimidating’ environment, so we need our brilliant fans to reciprocate for the whole 90 minutes because it won’t be easy and our fans are our 12th man who help us a lot to get over the line on the field,” he told the club’s website.
Qualification permutations explained
For Chiefs, a 1-0 win would take the tie into extra time and possibly penalties, and a 2-0 win would see Chiefs through 2-1 on aggregate over both legs. However, with the away goals rule in effect, should Red Arrows score in the second leg, Chiefs would have to win by a two-goal margin, at least, to go through. If the aggregate scores are level, Red Arrows would win on away goals.
Leaner confident Chiefs can turn things around
“It’s obvious, but our first task is to get one goal and then go for another one, as well as focus on keeping a clean sheet,” Leaner says.
“We have analysed where we went wrong in Zambia and had a look at how they played and where we might capitalise on some of their weaknesses, so we believe we can succeed on Friday,” he added.
- Kaizer Chiefs lost the first leg 1-0 against Zambia’s Red Arrows in the CAF Confederation Cup second preliminary round.
- The second leg will take place at Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban with kickoff at 6pm on Friday night.
- Renaldo Leaner, Chiefs’ goalkeeper, emphasized the importance of strong fan support to help the team overturn the deficit.
- Chiefs need at least a 2-0 win to progress directly, but a 1-0 win would push the match into extra time; Red Arrows can advance on away goals if they score in Durban.
- Chiefs have analyzed their mistakes from the first leg and are confident they can capitalize on Red Arrows’ weaknesses and succeed in the second leg.
