•Rwandan champions only draw to progress

Orange Champions League

Today 2.00pm

TP Mazembe v APR
 
Friday

Entente Setif 5-0 Union Douala
JS Kabylie 1-0 Club Africain
Al Ahly 2-0 Gunners

RWANDA’S ten-time league champion APR face African champions TP Mazembe this afternoon in the second leg match of the 1/16th round of the Orange CAF Champions League at Stade Martyrs in Kinshasa.

APR go into today’s match needing to only draw to reach the last 16 on the expense of the reigning champions after a 1-0 victory in Kigali a fortnight ago.

After looking out of sorts in the first leg, the holders will be hoping for a change in fortune in-front of their partisan crowd. Trailing 1-0, Mazembe will try to come into APR’s face from the onset looking for an early goal.

Nonetheless, APR’s Dutch trainer Eric Paske is upbeat about his team’s chances against the best side on the continent at the moment. Paske’s hopes rest on their preliminary clash with Recreativo de Libolo of Angola, where they squeezed a lone goal victory in Luanda after 2-2 draw in Kigali,”

"We were in a similar if not worse position against Recreativo and came through so I don’t see why we should not prevail against Mazembe.

"We need to be at our very best because Mazembe have vast experience in the competition and with stars like Tresor Mputu, Guy Lusadisu, Alain Kaluyituka Dioko and Given Singuluma, we need to be on the alert and try to play with the right attitude.

"It is going to be hard, thrilling and difficult game and if all goes as we plan, APR will return back home victorious,” Paske noted.

While a draw is enough to see APR through to the next round, TP Mazembe led by Africa’s best player Tresor Mputu, who have won the competition in 1968, 1969 and 2009, need a win to progress to the next stage.

TP Mazembe will come into today’s match confident after they whipped Veti club 5-2 in the Congolese national football league championship.

Alain Kaluyituka Dioko and Patou Kabangu hit a double each before Zambian Given Singuluma scored the fifth goal.

Meanwhile, Six-time African champions, Al-Ahly quenched off the continental ambitions of Zimbabwean debutants, Gunners FC, with a 2-0 victory in their 1/16th round second leg clash on Friday.

Ahmed Shokri and Mohamed Samir scored once each as the Red Devils cruised to a comfortable victory and advance 2-1 on aggregate to the next round of the premier continental club championships

Algerian champions Entente Setif progressed to the next round after a 5-0 routing of Union Douala of Cameroon. Entente Setif advanced 7-0 on aggregate.

Former Algerian champions, JS Kabylie advanced to the next round also after lone goal victory over Club Africain of Tunisia. The victory ensured the Algerians progressed 2-1 on aggregate after one all draw in the first held in Tunis a fortnight ago.

Ends