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The 2-0 win in Dar Es Salaam on May 10 puts Young Africans in a good position to face Marumo Gallants on Wednesday in South Africa. But the Tanzanians know that Bahlabane Ba Ntwa are formidable at home in the CAF Cup.
A quick look at Marumo Gallants' record at their home ground of Royal Bafokeng Stadium in Rustenburg in the 2022-2023 edition of the CAF Cup invites caution. The South Africans successively beat Elgeco Plus of Madagascar (1-0) and Al-Ahli Tripoli of Libya (3-0) in the first two qualifying rounds, USMA of Algeria (2-0), Saint-Eloi Lupopo of Congo (3-2) and Al-Akhdar of Libya (4-1) in the group stage, and Pyramids FC of Egypt (1-0) in the quarterfinals.
Nassreddine Nabi, the Tunisian coach of Young Africans, did not stop reminding his players "that nothing is done. We won (2-0) in the first leg, which is a good result, but we must keep in mind that the semi-final begins on Wednesday. Marumo Gallants, a team paradoxically struggling in its league, in the CAF Cup, forces him to refute the status of favorite that would tend to accuse his formation. "Marumo Gallants is a quality team, which attacks a lot and takes risks. On Wednesday, we should expect to be under a lot of pressure from the start. The South Africans will want to score very quickly. We will have to be solid and concentrated," continued the Tunisian technician.
The latter can be reassured about the level of concentration of his players. Several of them, asked to talk about this semi-final, have politely declined our invitation. "We had a long and tiring trip, via Addis Ababa and Johannesburg, just after our victory (4-2) against Dodoma Jiji in the championship. A win that secured Young Africans the Tanzanian league title, while giving Nabi the opportunity to rotate his squad (a bit). "Mentally, it's good to have achieved this goal, it has freed the players a little more, and it's good for confidence. We're going to play a game that can lead to a historic final."
In Rustenburg, in a stadium that hosted England's matches at the 2010 World Cup, Young Africans should not be under the pressure of a home crowd that is known to be quiet. Whatever the context, the stadium will not be plain, from what I understand. We will have to be really united, because I read the local press, and we feel that the players of Maruma Gallants are very motivated, they want to wear the colors of South Africa," said Nabi, who will be without Ghanaian Bernard Morrison, absent for administrative reasons.
