Coca-Cola FA Cup: Sharks Confident of Ousting Insurance
As Rangers storm Maiduguri by air
Newly-promoted Sharks are in high spirits as they look forward to finishing the impressive demolition job they started on Insurance of Benin in today's Coca-Cola FA Cup quarterfinal second leg clash in Benin.
Striker Kester Uweluyi, who scored an injury time goal in the 3-0 first leg win, is confident Sharks will progress to the semifinals.
"We will do our best since we know we have a bright chance but there's still a mountain to climb in Benin," Uweluyi told www.kickoffnigeria.com. "So, we have not relaxed in our preparations knowing they have their backs to the wall and are under pressure to reverse the scores.
"From the first match, I think we have an edge, but they too played well. There was also a wide gap in the technical approach. We are better and should have won by a wider margin", the attacking ace said.
Uweluyi is not bothered by the presence of highly rated Kelechi Uro and Celestine Onojah in the heart of Insurance's defence.
"There was nothing extra-ordinary about their defence. I didn't recognise the presence of an individual who stood out.
"It is difficult to rate them because they were under pressure and struggled throughout", he said.
Meanwhile, Enugu Rangers International stormed the desert town of Maiduguri to engage El-Kanemi Warriors in the second leg by air.
This was revealed by the chief executive officer of the coal city "Flying Antelopes," Davidson Owumi, who praised Enugu State Executive governor, Chimaroke Nnamani, for approving the flight.
"Our sports-loving governor after due consideration, thought it wise for us to embark on this trip by air owing to the fact that we just executed a tough match on Saturday and the distance to Maiduguri is just too much to cover on road by the players if we wish to make an impact in the match on Wednesday," the club boss stated.
He said that the gesture was a welcome development for the growth of the game stressing that the players and technical crew will be the better for it as there would not be any form of strain or wear as would have been recorded had the journey been made by road.
The 29-man strong delegation of 18 players and 11 officials left Enugu yesterday morning on board IRS Airlines and are expected to transit in Abuja to connect Maiduguri and defend their three goals lead from the first leg.
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