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Sead Ramovic, the former TS Galaxy coach, is facing a tough initiation into continental competition as his new squad, Young Africans, has experienced consecutive defeats in the challenging Group A of the CAF Champions League.
In their opening match at Benjamin Mkapa Stadium, Ramovic’s team suffered a 2-0 loss against the formidable Al Hilal Omdurman from Sudan, who are under the management of Florent Ibenge. They then faced another defeat to Algerian champions MC Algiers, again by a score of 2-0 on Saturday.
This difficult beginning has left the Tanzanian side in a precarious position, sitting at the bottom of the group with no goals to their name and four conceded, igniting their desire to collect points to improve their chances of making it to the knockout rounds.
Younger Africans will hit the field again for a tough encounter against DR Congo’s TP Mazembe at Stade TP Mazembe on December 14. They have previously triumphed over this team twice during the 2022/23 CAF Confederations Cup group stage.
In other continental updates, Elias Mokwana’s Esperance de Tunis played to a goalless draw against the strong Sagrada Esperanca in Luanda, Angola, this past Friday, after kicking off their campaign with a convincing 4-0 victory over Mali’s Djoliba AC.
With Esperance currently holding four points, Pyramids will be looking to secure their second victory to take the lead in Group D ahead of their match against the Malian opponents on Sunday after a dominant 5-1 win over Esperanca in their opening match.
Meanwhile, Khanyisa Mayo’s CR Belouizdad has narrowed the gap on both Al Ahly and Orlando Pirates after claiming their first win of the season with a 1-0 victory at Stade d’Abidjan on Saturday, with the former Cape Town City player participating for the full match duration.
Despite drawing with the Pirates, the reigning African champions remain at the summit of Group C, aided by a superior goal difference, as both teams are level on four points, while the Algerian giants find themselves in third place after two game weeks.
In another development, Mamelodi Sundowns find themselves in an unusual situation, still in search of their first win after beginning their campaign with a 0-0 stalemate against AS Maniema Union at home, followed by a 1-1 draw with FAR Rabat on Saturday.
At present, the Brazilians are in second place in Group B, having amassed two points from two matches, while the leaders Rabat have four points, courtesy of a 2-0 victory against Raja Casablanca in their opening encounter.
