AmaZulu coach McCarthy sees flaws in Raja's game that make the Moroccans beatable

18 March 2022 - 12:14 By SITHEMBISO DINDI
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AmaZulu coach Benni McCarthy is adamant his team can beat Raja Casablanca in a Caf Champions League clash at Moses Mabhida Stadium on Friday.
AmaZulu coach Benni McCarthy is adamant his team can beat Raja Casablanca in a Caf Champions League clash at Moses Mabhida Stadium on Friday.
Image: Steve Haag/BackPagePix/Gallo Images

AmaZulu FC coach Benni McCarthy says he has seen flaws in Moroccan giants Raja Casablanca that make them beatable in the Caf Champions League clash in Durban on Friday.

The game at Moses Mabhida Stadium is scheduled to kick-off at 6pm and both teams know how crucial victory is to boost their quarterfinal hopes.

Usuthu and Raja have already met in Group B, with the Moroccans winning 1-0 in Casablanca.

But McCarthy says Raja’s 2-1 defeat to Group B’s lowly-ranked Horoya of Guinea has given him an idea of how to approach the match.

“I think it was a morale booster for us to see them beaten by Horoya. There are flaws in their squad that make them beatable and we went to them for our first game of the group stage and did well,” McCarthy said.

“We played well against them even though we were nervous at first, but we played well and created clear-cut chances.

“If we took those chances we could have had a completely different start to our Champions League campaign.

“But we didn’t do that and they showed why they are the fourth best team in the continent and why they’ve won the Champions League a number of times and why they are always in this competition.

“They are clinical, they’ve a lot of depth and have experienced players that know how to make it count.”

McCarthy will be hoping that his charges do better in front of goals, a department that has contributed a lot to their struggles this season.

“ Horoya beating them, especially with us knowing how good we were against Horoya and how good we were at home against ES Setif, gave us an indication.

“So, if we are a bit more clinical and precisive on what we are doing in the final third, Raja can be penetrated and you can score against them.”

Usuthu are third on the Group B log with six points and are three points behind Raja, who are at the top of the log.

Setif are in second place, also with six points, while Horoya have three points with two matches to go.

The top two finishers of the group will proceed to the knockouts stage.

TimesLIVE


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