Solomon Asante Switches Attention To CAF Confederation Cup

DR Congo based Ghanaian forward Solomon Asante has switched his attention to the CAF Confederation Cup after falling short at the last hurdle in their title defense.

Solomon Asante and his Ghanaian contingents won the 2015 CAF Champions League with TP Mazembe but crushed out of this year’s edition to WAC of Morocco in the final qualification to the group phase.

The former Berekum Chelsea slippery forward however switched attention to the Confederation Cup as a consolation trophy for their failed attempt at defending their crown.

Asante played an integral role for TP Mazembe en route to their continental crown but has so far failed to replicate the kind of performances that earned him royal treatment across the continent.

The disappointed attacking prodigy pledged to lead a crusade in the Confederation Cup to atone for their dreadful title defense.

“We couldn’t defend the CAF Champions League we won last year but we are bent on winning the Confederation Cup to atone for our failed title defense. Collectively we know what it means to win trophies and the Confederation Cup is our next target for now”, Solomon Asante told www.sportscrusader.com.

Asante watched from the bench as TP Mazembe booked their place in the group stages of the CAF Confederation Cup with a 2-2 aggregate win over Stade Gabesiene of Tunisia.

Compatriots Daniel Nii Agyei and Yaw Frimpong featured for the struggling Congolese in the return leg as they confirmed their place in the money zone of the Confederation Cup on Tuesday.

Solomon Asante Switches Attention To CAF Confederation Cup

Muntari Tagoe Targets Confederation Cup Group Phase

Goalkeeper Muntari Tagoe is targeting the group phase of the CAF Confederation Cup with club side Medeama SC in this year’s competition.

Tagoe, who is also captain of the side, believes the quality in the team is good enough for them to go as far as possible in this year’s competition and insist they will go for it.

He will lead the side on Sunday as they play Sudanese side Al Shendi in a second round first leg tie with the return encounter scheduled to come off in Ghana after a fortnight.

“We are ready for this encounter on Sunday and we will go all out to produce a good result on Sunday to make the return encounter an easier option for us in Ghana,” Tagoe said on arrival in Sudan on Wednesday.

He added; “We view this encounter as another step towards our dream of making it to the group phase of the competition, and, therefore cannot afford to let this opportunity slip away”.

Medeama SC advanced to this stage of the competition after eliminating Al Ittihad Tripoli of Libya on a 2-1 aggregate and are seeking to reach the group phase of the competition for the first time.

Muntari Tagoe Targets Confederation Cup Group Phase

Medeama SC Seek CAF Confederation Cup Passage

Ghanaian outfit Medeama SC will be looking to secure passage to the round of 16 in the CAF Confederation Cup on Sunday when they host Libyan giants Al Ittihad Tripoli at the Sekondi Stadium at Essipong.

The Yellow and Mauves went down 1-0 to their Libyan counterparts in the first leg encounter played in Tunis, Tunisia last Sunday in this round of 32 tie.

The MTN FA Cup champions will need to better that result on home soil to book a place in the next round of the competition and are hopeful of doing so.

Coach Tom Strand said after the first game that they are capable of overturning the result at home, and, will go into this game are perhaps the favourites taking into effect that narrow loss.

He concedes that the Libyans are a good side but not one they cannot defeat on Sunday. He will hope to count on the form of midfielders Malik Akowauh, Kwasi Donsu, Kwame Boahene, and Eric Kwakwa to dominate the game.

The striking duo of Dominic Eshun and Benjamin Bature will be counted on to provide the goals that could see them through to the next stage of the competition.

Medeama drew a bye in the preliminary round to reach this stage of the competition whilst the Libyans accounted for AS Sonidep of Niger 5-4 on aggregate to progress.

Match Officials

The match referee is Daouda GUEYE from Senegal and he will be assisted on the lines by El Hadji Abdoul Aziz GUEYE and Nouha BANGOURA. All the officials are from Senegal.

Medeama SC Seek CAF Confederation Cup Passage

Medeama SC v Dwarfs Postponed

The Premier League Board (PLB) has rearranged the Match-Day Four Ghana Premier League (GPL) clash  between Medeama SC and Ebusua Dwarfs scheduled to have come off this weekend.

The decision to reschedule the fixture is to enable Medeama SC participate in the Confederation of African Football (CAF) Confederation Cup this weekend.

Medeama SC joins the competition in the second round and will play Libyan outfit, Al Ittihad Tripoli on Sunday in a first leg encounter to played in Tunis, Tunisia.

The Libyan are using Tunis as home venue as a result of the security situation in their country following the civil strive that has hit them recently.

Al Ittihad Tripoli qualified narrowly to this stage of the competition on a 5-4 goal aggregate over Sonidep of Niger last weekend.

The official Twitter account of the MTN FA Cup champions confirmed the team will travel to Tunisia on Thursday ahead of this first leg tie.

“Medeama will travel to Tunisia on Thursday ahead of CAF Confederation Cup match against Libyan side @AlIttihadLibya
9:34 AM – 8 Mar 2016
2 MedeamaSC @MedeamaSC” the official account tweeted.

Medeama SC remain the only Ghanaian representative in the CAF inter-club football competition after AshGold were knocked out of the Champions League by M.O Bejaia of Algeria a fortnight ago.

Skipper of the club, Muntari Tagoe called on Ghanaians to throw their weight behind the Mauve and Yellows to do the country proud, and they will be seeking to get a favorable score line in the first leg, so as to make the return encounter an easy passage on home soil.

Medeama SC v Dwarfs Postponed

Medeama SC denies CAF Confederation pull-out rumours

Reigning MTN FA Cup Champions, Medeama SC, has denied rumours circulating in the media suggesting they have pulled out from the 2016 CAF Confederation Cup competition.

The Tarkwa based premier league side booked their ticket to the preliminary rounds of the continental football festival by virtue of their FA cup glory over Kumai Asante Kotoko.

The Yellows and Mauves landed a bye in the opening rounds of the CAF Confederation and the club has since confirmed their readiness to flex muscles with the continent’s elite clubs.

The Tarkwa based side rubbished any false reports hinting at their purported abrogation of their Confederation Cup campaign as the look to announce their return to CAF assignments.

Administrative manager of the Tarkwa based side, Mr. Benjamin Kessie, rubbished the false news as they continue to fine tune their preparation for the CAF campaign.

“That cannot never be true. Our preparations for the upcoming matches is not in doubt at all. We are preparing for the confederation cup matches boosted by the return of the league.” Benjamin Kessie told sports crusader.

Medeama SC stormed past Kumasi Asante Kotoko in the 2015 MTN FA Cup final to seal their place in the CAF Confederation cup.

Medeama SC denies CAF Confederation pull-out rumours