ANOTHER EGYPT MATCH-UP FOR WITS

SuperSport, Stars will join Clever Boys in Confederation Cup action

BIDVEST Wits will be heading back to Egypt next month as they continue their African odyssey‚ this time in the African Confederation Cup rather than the Champions League. SuperSport United have been drawn against Liberian opposition, while Platinum Stars must play in the Ivory Coast in the third round of the same competition after the draw conducted at the Confederation of African Football headquarters in Cairo yesterday.

The aggregate winners all advance to the group phase of the Confederation Cup‚ which kicks off in May.

After the weekend aggregate defeat by Cairo giants Al Ahly‚ Wits have now dropped down to play in the continent’s secondary club competition and are one tie away from a first-ever place in the group phase.

They were drawn against Smouha‚ who hail from Alexandria on the Mediterranean coast‚ and sit fifth in the Egyptian premier league.

Smouha had a bye through the first round of this year’s Confederation Cup and had a real scare in the second round, where they narrowly got past Kenya’s Ulinzi Stars after losing 3-0 away at the weekend in the second leg.

Wits are at home in the first leg on the weekend of April 7-9, but Platinum Stars and SuperSport have home advantage in the return leg the next weekend.

Stars drew AS Tanda, of the Ivory Coast‚ who have only won three of 13 league games so far this season.

Tanda dropped down from the Champions League after losing both home and away in the previous round to Etoile Sahel, of Tunisia.

Tanda won a first Ivorian league title in 2015 after heavy investment by a businessman and retained the title last year.

Although they come from outside of the capital‚ they have been playing their African club competition games in Abidjan.

After an uncomfortable trip to Sudan earlier this month‚ there is another long journey for SuperSport to Liberia to take on Barrack Young Controllers‚ who upset Stade Malien in the first round of the Champions League but were then eliminated by Mozambique’s Ferroviario Beira in a penalty shootout.

Wits want to be competitive in the Confederation Cup‚ but their focus has to be on winning their maiden Premiership title‚ Clever Boys goalkeeper Moeneeb Josephs has said.

Wits bowed out of the 2017 Champions League with their 1-0 aggregate defeat against Al Ahly‚ as they could only manage a 0-0 home result in the second leg of their first-round tie against at the Bidvest Stadium on Sunday.

It can be difficult for a team that moves to the Confed from the prestigious Champions League to maintain the same intensity and hunger.