Ethiopian premier league record champions Kidus Giorgis will be aiming for a positive outing when they face Seychellois side Cote D’Or in the 2017 Total CAF Champions League at Stade Amitie in Praslin, the second largest island of the country.
The Horsemen departed to Praslin on Thrusday morning including a handful of Giorgis’s faithful traveled to the country. It is the second time in a run that the seide is facing a Seychelles outfit in the preliminary round. Head coach Mart Nooji stated his charges are very acquainted with their opponents. “We know Seychelles team a little bit. Last year we have played against Saint Michel. I saw the national team of Seychelles in Hawassa playing against Ethiopia. So we know rather their style of play and mentality of their players. I was told they have also some foreigners from Madagascar and Uganda. I think we must not look too much on the opponent. We should believe in ourselves. We are developing an aggressive play style. So we want to do that in both games,” Nooji told Soccer Ethiopia.
A recent head to head record of Ethiopian clubs away to Seychelles is not satisfying. Dedebit has beaten Cot D’Or 3-2 in Praslin two seasons ago whilst the Ethiopian national team were forced to settle for stalemate against Seychelles in AfCON qualifiers. Kidus Giorgis could only manage to grasp a 1 all draw against Saint Michel in 2016 CAF Champions League. Nonetheless, team captain Degu Debebe believes past results won’t matter when it comes to the duel. “Football is all about current performance not past records. You can beat a team today but you never know if you could beat them tomorrow. We won’t underestimate our opponents due to the fact that their football is not developed. We respect them,” alluded Degu.
Cot D’Or trained Ralph Jean Louis is no stranger to Ethiopian opponents. Having a brief stint with national team and Saint Michel in 2016 alone he faced Ethiopian sides twice. The coach had set up a 6 week intensive training session ahead of their crucial home tie against Kidus Giorgis. Seychellois sides have a poor reputation in CAF club competitions. CAF Confederation Cup participants Saint Michel has lost 2-0 to Sudanese side Al Hilal Obied on Friday. Hence, Jean Louis will be on look out for a better result than their local rivals when the lock horns against Kidus Giorgis later today.
Kidus Giorgis has included new signing duo Bruno Kone and Prince Wango. The pair are cleared to play their maiden game for Kidus Giorgis. Salahdin Said and Adane Girma will lead the attack while the return of winger Behailu Assefa is huge relief for the coaching staff. The matcj kicks off at 15:00.
