CAFCL: MC Alger will do everything to overturn Orlando Pirates defeat – Ben Yahia

Photo Credit – Mouloudia Club d’Alger.

MC Alger head coach Khaled Ben Yahia has remained confident that they still have a chance to beat Orlando Pirates and qualify for the semi-finals of the Caf Champions League.

Orlando Pirates produced a great show of resilience to steal a crucial 1-0 win in the opening leg of their quarter-final tie against the Algerian side which took place at Stade du 5 Juillet on Tuesday night.

The victory placed the South African outfit on the driving seat ahead of next week’s deciding leg at Orlando Stadium. It also saw them extend their unbeaten run in the competition to 11 matches, while inflicting a rare defeat on their in-form hosts.

Despite the first leg defeat, Ben Yahia is not giving up yet insisting they will do everything to overturn the result in the return leg.

“We’re going to fight in the return leg… we have a good team with the necessary reflexes. We have to keep a cool head and try to work hard to do what’s necessary,” Ben Yahia said as quoted by idiskitimes. “We lost a match that we had prepared well for, on all levels. The disappointment is twofold.”

On the home defeat, he said: “What our players did was extraordinary, we suffocated the opponent, and we cornered them with our high pressure. The Orlando players couldn’t even make two or three proper passes; our players were harassing them so much. At first, I was scared, because I was told that this Orlando team is from another planet.

“However, as the minutes went by, we took control of the game, and the players gained confidence. Unfortunately, we weren’t clinical up front. This defeat hurts us, especially since we had this home support.

“My players did everything we prepared for before this match…we insisted on staying focused and not making mistakes. It’s a shame that we lacked efficiency. I hope we’ll be even better in the future.”