GU primed for ‘war’ in DRC
Gaborone United (GU) will take a sixhour flight to the Democratic Republic Congo (DRC) where a ‘furious’ AS Vita lie in wait. The two teams will face off in the second leg of the CAF Champions League preliminary round to be played at the Stade des Martyrs (Martyrs Stadium) on Sunday afternoon. The Reds carry a slight 1-0 advantage from the first leg played in Gaborone on Sunday but their leap into the second round faces a tough test. There is a sense of trepidation within the GU camp following a squabble between the two sides in the first leg in Gaborone. AS Vita has reportedly filed a formal complaint to CAF after the team was denied a chance to train at the National Stadium a day before the match.
GU’s head coach, Benny Kgomela said his side will look to conclude their preparations in Gaborone to curb any plots of revenge from their opponents in Kinshasa.
“We have prepared our boys that we might encounter problems that side. We are leaving on Friday and we will do all our preparations here at home so that when we get there we are left with just the final touches.
As per what they say in terms of the way we treated them here, we should counter anything that they may plan against us,” he said.
The Reds will play in front of the largest crowd ever as the Martyrs Stadium holds a capacity of 80,000. Congolese football journalist, Etienne Kambala feels the home fans will make the occasion the most uncomfortable for the visiting Moya goleele. “The match will be played at the Martyrs Stadium in Kinshasa, which has
the capacity to accommodate 80,000 people. This stadium has a pitch with an artificial turf. It is possible that the stadium will be full as an egg. AS Vita also performs and brings much following whether they play home or away,” the scribe stated.
AS Vita’s head coach, Raoul Sungu feels from the first leg, Vita has studied the Reds and in the second leg tie, his side will show their true colours. “It (GU) is a great team we just saw them here. We are waiting for the second leg where we have to put a play route about them. This was the first time we met, we just learned them, so now we know their strengths and weaknesses.”
“We will be playing at home, it is a ground we are familiar with. We are used to playing in synthetic fields.
We played the match in a stadium with natural grass, which was great but going back home we are familiar with the ground and of course, we will have our fans which is an advantage,” Sungu said.
The Reds left for Kinshasa this morning and will have to quickly acclimatise to the weather conditions, as it is slightly hotter in DRC with temperatures reaching highs of 32º Celsius. The match will kick off at 4.30pm (local time).