AS FAR coach confident of piping Sundowns to CAFCL title
Interview
AS FAR head coach Alexandre Santos is confident of overturning the one-goal deficit against Mamelodi Sundowns in the return leg of the CAF Champions League final.
The Moroccan outfit heads into the second meeting on the backfoot, having fallen to a narrow 1-0 defeat at the hands of the South African champions in the first leg.
AS FAR face an uphill battle in their quest for a favourable result against Sundowns, as they had zero shots on target in Pretoria, where Downs have proved difficult to beat.
Santos, however, feels his troops gave Miguel Cardoso's side a run for their money, and believes the turning point in the high-stakes match was Aubrey Modiba's stunner.
“We were technically good in the first half and when we conceded the goal we tried to equalize and that's when we opened up and gave a lot of chances to Sundowns. But overall, we did good and we were expecting Sundowns to be hard on us,” he said.
The Portuguese tactician is optimistic that his team can stun Sundowns on home soil and clinch their first Champions League title since 1985.
“We still have a chance at home to finish it and probably become the champions because we know that at home we have our fans and we have our way of playing and it is possible,” Santos added.
"Everybody of our team knows that we have a very good chance to face Sundowns and to do what we want, which is to score and reverse the result and get the title - that's the most important thing.
AS FAR will host Sundowns at the Stade Prince Moulay Abdallah in Rabat on Sunday, with both teams gunning for their second continental crowns.