ETINCELLES literally know what to expect from Saturday’s Orange Confederation Cup game against AC Leopards of Congo Brazzaville. The first leg of the preliminary round will be held in Brazzaville.

In the build up to Saturday’s game, the PNFL side has tested its self against two of DRC’s top clubs DC Motema Pembe and Vita Club.

The Western province side, who partly have Atraco to thank for getting this far, suffered 2-3 and 0-1 defeats against these sides but their coach Abdu Bizimana insists that they drew valuable lessons from the games.

"DC Motema Pembe and Vita Club are very good sides and gave us a glimpse of what to expect in this competition. They have a similar style to that of AC Leopards so we have an idea of how to approach the game,” he noted.
It is important that Etincelles get a result in Brazzaville to ease their task in the return leg which will be held in Kigali two weeks from now.

The team heads to Brazzaville this morning aboard Ethiopian airways.

Last season, Etincelles gained from Atraco’s withdraw from the league by finishing second to earn an automatic ticket to the Orange Confederation Cup.

This season, Etincelles have struggled to find last year’s form after managing just 15 points from their opening nine league games, 12 points adrift of league leaders APR.
Etincelles face Congo’s AC Leopards in the preliminary round this Saturday before hosting them in a return leg a fortnight after.

In 1989, Etincelles competed in the continental championship beating Burundi’s Vital’O in the preliminary round but going on to lose to DRC’s Kalamo 1-0 in the second round.

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