MONROVIA, Montserrado – Club football action will return to the famous Antoinette Tubman Stadium this weekend when Liberia First Division champions, Barrack Young Controller Football Club takes on South Africa ABSA Premiership side, SuperSports United Football Club in the playoffs round of the 2017 Confederation of African Football’s Confederation Cup on Sunday, April 9.

After qualifying from the preliminary round over Malian side, Stade Bamako de Malien, the Liberian club were eliminated from the CAF Champions League first round by Mozambican side, Clube Ferravario de Biera 3-1 on penalties following a 2-2 aggregate scoreline.

Despite being eliminated from the Champions League, BYC were given a chance to have a taste of a group stage of a CAF club competition after being drawn against an experienced South African side.

The Liberian league appears like an amateur league when compared to the South African football league, where Liberian international winger Anthony Snoti Laffor plays. Accordingly, many football fans doubt that BYC can record a victory over their counterparts.

However, BYC’s president, Sekou Konneh, in a pre-match press conference, told reporters his team is not deterred by his opponents’ big name. Despite admitting that the South Africans have many experienced players in the team, he believes his team is not afraid of the team many considered as the favorite.

“They are a big club. This competition is not just about big clubs. It is a blessing in disguise to be paired against a club like SuperSports,” Konneh said. “I see it as an opportunity to play against some of the big guns in Africa. It provides [the] opportunity for our young players to showcase their talents at the stage where they can attract the attention of bigger clubs.  It is a challenging draw for us. We are not going to be sentimental about that. SuperSports is a big club but I can tell you that BYC is not afraid of big clubs. Looking at the club’s history, [we] love the big stage.”

Konneh further praised his side for their recent games in Senegal, despite a number of poor results from the CAF Champions League in the just ended WAFU Club Competition. BYC finished as the worst team in a four-club competition. Konneh said his team has been playing well but their major problem is their poor finishing touches in front of their opponents’ goals.

“As administrators, we have done our part but we cannot go on the pitch and score goals for the players,” he added. “My plea is with the players. This is an opportunity for them to showcase their talent. We have had many opportunities to perform in more competitions in recent times. We have been playing good but our poor form in front of [the] goal has caused us major problems. I’m calling on my players to be more focused. They need to score goals because it is the only way to move forward.”

He said his team is more prepared for this game than it has been for past games, adding that the pressure was on them players to make up for past failures.

“On the pitch, it will be 11 against 11. They have the experience but we are much younger. That’s an opportunity of us,” he concluded.

Featured photo courtesy of Anthony Kokoi