Jean-Florent Ibenge Ikwange and Steven Ebuela as well as their club, Al Hilal Omdurman (Sudan) conceded a draw (1-1) against Mouloudia of Algiers (Algeria) in a match counting for the 4th day of the African Champions League .
The Congolese technician and his protégés managed to do the essential with this very good result which allows them to qualify for the quarter-finals of this competition. It is the first club to achieve this in all four groups of the tournament. But they were off to a very bad start in this game having conceded very early (from the 5th minute), which complicated things a little at this moment in the match. We clearly had to react to avoid any doubts and they managed to do it in a very good way with a superb equalizer which started from midfield and concluded with a superb strike at the entrance to the penalty area from the Burundian Jean -Claude Girumugisha. He had already scored the winning goal against Mazembe.
“This match was already very difficult to prepare in terms of the strategy to adopt. We needed a point to qualify and when that happens, there is the fear of losing. We kind of expected that but not how it happened on the pitch. We didn’t exist in the first half and we were stifled. The opponent was superior to us in the duels and we shot for the first time in the 43rd minute. Calmly at the break, we put things back in place and we could not continue the match at this pace. That we had to be patient to start holding the ball again and little by little, we emerged. We made some offensive changes, which allowed us to come back to the score. We finished well by being better than the opponent. We are not looking directly towards the quarter-finals because it will come down to choosing the opponent. All the opponents are complicated to play against and we will remain among the 8 best clubs on the continent, that’s no small thing. This does not give us an advantage because we are qualified. We need to approach this match with a better mindset as we started the competition. We will first start playing our last two matches with the greatest seriousness. This is the best way to prepare for the quarter-finals,” explained Jean-Florent Ibenge Ikwange to ACTUALITE.CD.
With 10 points now, the score is good for the Sudanese club which will calmly wait the next two days without too much pressure with a well-deserved qualification in their pocket for the 2nd round.
Michel TOBO
