CAFCC: Kotoko coach Karim Zito reflects on tough WAC clash

Asante Kotoko have a tall order in their second preliminary round CAF Confederation Cup clash against Wydad Athletic Club.

The Porcupine Warriors reached the second round after eliminating Nigeria’s Kwara United by a 5-3 aggregate over two legs in the first round.

The first leg against the Nigeria outfit finished 4-3 in Accra with Kotoko pipping Kwara by 1-0 in the reverse fixture at the Moshood Abiola Stadium in Nigeria.

Ahead of the first leg clash against WAC of Morocco, Kotoko head coach, Karim Zito shared some words.

‘It’s important for Kotoko to win against WAC’

“We are definitely ready. We are going to wrap up tomorrow,” Zito said. “We’ve done all that we’re supposed to do. We’ve studied the game and then put into practice how I would like them to play on Sunday. I think we are all ready.

“It’s very, very important to us [to win in Accra] because I told them, you will not see Africa until you are in Africa.

“I cited an example that today, when you go to Dreams FC, everybody [players he reached the CAF Confederation Cup semi-final with] are gone.

“This is the opportunity for them to exhibit their talent, and then, as we did on the field, for people to trust them so that they can go into the group stage, and we will do our best there.

“This is the target we set for ourselves that at least we should progress to the group stage, and then we have only Wydad to play against before we go there. “If we beat Wydad in Accra, it means I have another game to play in Morocco, and I have to plan well so that we will not concede over there, just as we did against Kwara.”

Wydad are yet to defeat Kotoko in Ghana per their historical meetings but the different look Moroccan club are bent on causing an upset with Kotoko needing resilience to keep them at bay. The tough fixture is set for the Accra Sports Stadium on Sunday, October 19 as the Baba Yara Stadium failed to meet CAF’s standards.