Karekezi in fitness race

2013 Nations Cup qualifierTodayNigeria vs Rwanda 5pmUganda vs CongoSundayZimbabwe vs BurundiCongo DR vs SeychellesBenin vs EthiopiaTogo vs KenyaCALABAR - Amavubi Stars take on Nigeria’s Super Eagles in a do or die crunch match to determine which of the two teams qualifiy for the next (qualifying) round of 2013 Africa Nations Cup finals.Today’s return leg clash will be played this evening at U.J Esuene Stadium in Calabar, south-eastern Nigeria. The corresponding fixture played in Kigali on February 29, ended goalless.Amavubi go into today’s game looking for either a straight win or a scoring draw in order to progress to the second qualifying round at the expense of the pre-match favourites the Super Eagles. Rwanda will be boasted by the fact that they played some good football and created enough scoring opportunities against Benin last weekend; so they hope to maintain the same rhythm against Nigeria.Head coach Milutin ‘Micho’ Sredojovic is optimistic his team will give as good as they get against a star-studded Super Eagles, who are equally under pressure to win.However, by press time, Micho was still sweating on the fitness of his captain Olivier Karekezi, picked up an ankle injury following a big challenge by defender Solomon Nirisarike in Thursday’s training session at the University of Calabar grounds.The APR forward faces a race against time to start today’s match after receiving round the clock treatment from the team doctors.“It’s still goalless from the first leg and it is very difficult to score against the Eagles but we will be looking for a way to break them down on Saturday,” Micho told Times Sport.He added, “Stephen Keshi is building his team and he has succeeded in doing so. He has achieved something already especially defensively. The last time they conceded more than one goal was against Egypt.”“They have top players all over the pitch but we are ready to do everything to stop them from scoring. We must answer all the questions the Eagles ask of us on the pitch and not allow them unsettle us.”The Serb admitted it is going to be very tough for his team to get a good result since the match is like a final for both teams, but believes Amavubi can get a scoring draw. “They (Nigeria) will be under more pressure than us, and I think this will be a big motivation for us to go out there and play for a win without any pressure,”“When a team has almost won a game and loses in the last seconds due to a mistake such as they did against Malawi, it can be devastating, at least psychologically, and hopefully it remains that way against us,” he noted coyly.Amavubi played out to a 1-all draw against Benin in the 2014 World Cup qualifier and the Serb has urged his charges to improve their performance if they stand any chance of hurting the Eagles.The last time both sides met on Nigerian soil in a competitive match was eight years ago–Amavubi lost.On June 5, 2004, in a 2006 Fifa World Cup qualifying match at the National Stadium, Abuja. Obafemi Martins’ two goals gave Nigeria a 2-0 win.Rwanda will be hoping to add to its only ANC appearance which was in Tunisia in 2004 while Nigeria will be looking to avoid missing out on the Africa Nations Cup final for a second consecutive time.Should the Amavubi overcome Nigeria, they will advance to the final qualifying round that brings together qualifiers from the first round and the 16 teams that competed at the Africa Nations Cup finals held in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea early this year.Probable line-up:Rwanda: Jean Claude Ndoli, Godfroid Steven, Jean Claude Iranzi, Eric Gasana, Salomon Nirisarike, Fabrice Twagizimana, Tumaine Ntamuhanga,Meddie Kagere, Haruna Niyonzima, Olivier Karekezi and Dady Birori.

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Karekezi in fitness race