Fidelis Ilechukwu of Rangers International has declared the clash with Sagrada Esperanca in the CAF Champions League as a cup final.
Nigeria’s reigning league champions commenced their journey for the 2nd leg, 2nd preliminary round of the CAF Champions League encounter against Sagrada Esperanca of Angola as a delegation led by the G.M/CEO of the club, Amobi Ezeaku departed Enugu, Wednesday, for the Angolan capital, Luanda.
The team will spend the night in Lagos before connecting a flight on Thursday for the venue of the encounter that is expected to be an interesting one as the Ilechukwu tutored side seek to pick the ticket for a group stage passage.
Ilechukwu said in a chat: “We are going to Luanda to play this encounter as a cup final. Our opponents are very technical and have fast players but we have done our duties on how to contain them and push our way into the group stage of the competition. It will be a difficult match but I am optimistic of a positive result.”
Captain of the side, Chinemerem Ugwueze in a chat before the team left Enugu, said, “We are very focused and have put in a lot in preparing for the second leg encounter against Sagrada Esperanca.
“I think that with the intensive trainings we have done since the end of the first leg, we are good to go and defend the badge of the club. Sure, its going to be a high-pressure game but we have our work cut out and we are optimistic.”
Rangers takes a 1-0 lead into this weekend’s fixture slated for the 48,500 capacity Estadio 11 de Novembro, Luanda, Angola with kickoff slated for 15:30 hours (Angolan Time) on Sunday, September 22, 2024.
