Niger Tornadoes of Minna captain and goalkeeper, Mustapha Aliko has declared that the Ikon Allah Boys are determined to pull the chestnut out of the fire when they play away to Santoba Conakry FC of Guinea in the second leg of their CAF Confederation Cup fixture, megasportsarena.com reports.
Although his side lost the first 2-1 at Ahmadu Bello Stadium, Kaduna a fortnight ago, Aliko emphatically stated that Friday’s second leg will be a different story, as he and his teammates are determined to turn the table against their hosts.
He went on to state during Mega Sports on Star 101.5 FM, Lagos that his side played better during the first leg, but says they only lost to ill luck and minimal loss of concentration, which he believes will change in the reverse fixture, ahead of which he disclosed their high level of training.
The Minna-based club’s skipper stressed that they learnt their lesson from the first leg in The City of Crocodiles, hence his verdict that they will be on a higher level of technique and morale to turn the tide and return home with a shock result from Friday’s game in Conakry.
Before travelling out to the Guinean capital on Tuesday, Tornadoes played two friendly games, the first of which they lost 2-1 to second-tier league campaigners, 36 Lion FC, then drew 2-2 with top-flight side, MFM FC, but Aliko parried their shaky form in both build-up matches.
He reasoned that the desire to move ahead in the competition will spur the 2019 Nigerian Federation Cup runners-up to go all out with a deep level of motivation and sheer determination to avoid defeat in Conakry.
Aliko retorted: “We are not giving up. We want to qualify and we are determined to do well in Conakry. We will not lose again on Friday.”
