By MICHAEL MIYOBA
AFTER going four games without a win in all competitions, Zambian champions Nkana FC begin their CAF Confederations Cup Group Stage campaign today when they take on Egyptian giants Pyramids FC in a Group D game at 30 June Stadium in Cairo.
The Kelvin Kaindu tutored-Nkana who beat Moroccan outfit TAS de Casablanca via a 2-1 aggregate win to storm the Group Stage will hope to start their campaign on a positive note by avoiding defeat in Egypt.
However, despite Nkana struggling with defeats especially in the MTN/FAZ Super Division where they have recorded consecutive defeats to Buildcon, Power Dynamos and Kabwe Warriors, coach Kaindu is confident his side can conquer the Egyptians.
Speaking in a pre-match interview, Kaindu said Nkana is ready to face the North Africans who have always dominated African football at both club and national team level.
He said the Kitwe giants are still working on finding a solution to their weak defence which has conceded nine goals in the last for games in all competitions.
“Yes, it hasn’t been easy for Nkana to beat teams from North Africa but we are coming from a round where we managed to qualify to the group stage against a North African team.
“The challenge has been on the field of play but we are prepared. We managed to get an away goal in the last game when we played a team from Morocco and I think that will be a slight advantage for us because we already ‘tasted’ the North Africans before,” Kaindu said.
Since losing some of its key players such as Idris Mbombo, Nkana has struggled to compete with Kaindu relying on youngters like Simon Mulenga and Emmanuel Mwinde who recently switched from Buildcon to Nkana.
And despite Nkaba being the underdogs going into today’s fixture, Nkana forward Ackim Mumba said the players are determined to put up a spirited fight against Pyramids FC.
Mumba said the players are aware of how tough the match will be but they are ready to fight for a better result in Egypt.
Meanwhile, Napsa Stars coach Mohammed Fathi has declared the Pensioners ready for today’s clash against Moroccan giants RS Berkane.
Fathi said Napsa Stars is focused to make history by overcoming Berkane who are the Confederations Cup defending champions.
Napsa Stars who are debutants in the Confederations Cup beat Kenyan giants Gor Mahia to reach the group stage.
A win in Morocco will surely lift the team’s spirit ahead of their second group B match next Wednesday against Algerian giants JS Kabylie.
