OMDURMAN, Sudan – Tapha Manneh, head coach of LISCR Football Club, says he is confident of his club reaching the first qualifying round of the 2018 CAF Champions League at the expense of Sudanese giant, Al-Hilal.

The Shipping Boys face an uphill task on Tuesday, February 20 when they take on the 26-time Sudanese Premier League champions in the return leg of the preliminary round qualifiers. The Liberian side is going into the match up a goal and will need at least a draw to make it through to the next round. They won the first leg in Monrovia 1-0 on Feb 11 at the Antoinette Tubman Stadium and are looking forward for a repeat of the result from the first leg.

Despite going into the return leg with the advantage, the three-time Liberian league champions will need to work harder on the pitch if they are to eliminate Hilal. The Sudanese side has never been eliminated from the preliminary stage since 1966 and will have the home advantage to overturn the 1-0 deficit when they take on Manneh’s team.

With Hilal’s performances in the CAF Champions League in the last 10 years where they have reached the semifinals three times, LISCR has been rated the underdogs going into the match. Many pundits in and out of Liberia have tipped the Sudanese side to qualify, but LISCR’s coach says he isn’t worried about their big name and high profile.

The Gambian coach said his aim is to qualify and he is fully optimistic of doing so. He told journalists at a pre-match conference in Khartoum that his team is prepared for the task.

“There are different approaches of playing home and away,” he said. “We have prepared as a team playing away and are fully ready for the match. We have come here to play football and not to face the fans. Our focus is what will be done on the pitch and not outside the pitch. We don’t care if Hilal is a big team or not. Our aim is to qualify to the next round. We aren’t afraid of the big names. To be a champion, you have to beat a champion. It doesn’t matter the kind of supporters they have.”

The match which will kick off at the Blue Jewel Stadium in Omdurman, Khartoum State.

Featured photo by T. Kla Wesley Jr.