CAFCC: Ibenge confident Azam FC will defeat Wydad AC

Azam FC head coach Florent Ibenge has made it clear they are heading to Morocco for their final CAF Confederation Cup group fixture against giants Wydad AC with the aim of collecting maximum points on Sunday, February 15.

After a poor start to their campaign, the Ice Cream Makers have gone ahead to win their last three matches and haul a total of nine points which has seen them stay third in Group B.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Azam Football Club (@azamfcofficial)

Azam had lost their matchday one 2-0 away against AS Maniema of DR Congo, and returned home to lose 1-0 against Wydad on matchday two. However, they changed gear to win matchday three – a 2-1 win against Nairobi United.

They returned home to seal a double over the promoted Kenyan side with a 1-0 win and their qualification to the knockout stage for the first time in their history was further boosted with a 1-0 home win against Maniema.

‘Task ahead tough but not impossible’

“We are going to Morocco with one objective: to win the game and then see what happens next,” Ibenge said as quoted by the Guardian.

“At the start of the season, our main target was to reach the group stage, and we achieved that. Collecting nine points at this level is not a small achievement. It shows the hard work we put in to get here.

“This season has been a big learning experience for us, and we must use these lessons to improve and perform even better next season.”

Revisiting the poor start to the group stage campaign, the veteran Congolese coach said: “After losing our first two matches, the situation became very difficult.

“However, we made a decision as a team to fight for our chances in the remaining four games. So far, we have won three, and now there is one match left. We know the task ahead is very tough, but it is not impossible.

“Even if we only have a one percent chance, we will fight with one hundred percent commitment.”

Wydad AC leading the pile with 12 points

The win against Maniema lifted Azam to nine points from five matches, drawing them level with second-placed Maniema Union and setting up a dramatic finale to the group stage.

Wydad are currently sitting top of Group B with 12 points, Maniema Union are second with nine points from five matches, while Azam occupy third place on the same number of points after five games.

Nairobi United have already been eliminated and remain bottom of the group without a single point.