Niger Tornadoes have stepped up their preparations for the preliminary
round of the CAF Confederation Cup with a 2-1 win over John Utaka
Academy of Minna in a friendly game played at the Ahmadu Bello
Stadium, Kaduna.
Tornadoes arrived Kaduna on Saturday and the players went down
straight to business a day later against the tough non-league side and
prevailed over them 2-1 in Kaduna.
The newly recruited Godwin Zaki from Enugu Rangers and Wakili Musa
Abdullahi were on the score-sheet for the 2019 Aiteo Cup finalists.CA
Reuben Ogbonnaya a defender with the team who also saw action in the
friendly encounter told DaSportsTainment247.com that the Ikon Allah
Boys gave a good account of themselves and that the old and the new
players are blending seamlessly ahead of the continental fixture
against Santoba Conakry of Guinea on Saturday in Kaduna.
He said they had to give their best against their opponents from Minna
because they have been a very tough side and have shown overtime that
they are very difficult to beat.
“It was a tough game and we were able to beat them in the very first
game we have played as a team since the changes made to the team,”
Ogbonnaya told DaSportsTainment247.com.
“We knew what to expect before the game because they defeated Kano
Pillars 1-0 on Saturday and they have been a very good side with some
of their players exported overseas. We gave a good account of
ourselves and we were rewarded with a win.
“We won’t be carried away by this win because we know that we still
have a long way to go before realizing our objectives. We will still
play at least another friendly game together before the game on
Saturday and we are expecting a favourable outcome by the weekend.”
Tornadoes were beaten in the final of the 2019 Aiteo Cup but qualified
for the continental showpiece because Kano Pillars who emerged
victorious had already picked the CAF Champions League via the Nigeria
Professional Football League.
The last time Tornadoes played on the continent was in 2001 when they
beaten 4-1 on aggregate by Interclube of Angola in the quarter-final
of the now rested Cup Winners Cup.
