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Heartland FC have
promised to be the better team when they take on Algeria’s JS Kabylie
in their next match of the 2010 CAF Champions league campaign. The Naze
Millionaires were held to a one all draw in their game against Egypt’s
Al-Ahly last Sunday in Owerri in a game that saw Heartland creating
numerous chances only to be denied either by the Egyptian goalie or
their profligacy in front of goal. It was only four minutes into the
second half that they were able to convert a chance into a goal with a
simple tap-in from Bello Koformata.

Al-Ahly on the other hand scored
from the penalty spot. “It was a mistake,” declared the team’s
assistant coach Emeka Ezeugo while talking about the goal that saw the
Egyptian club equalizing in the 75th minute following a rash tackle on
Mohammed Barakat in the penalty area by Emmanuel Olowo with Mohammed
Abou Trika converting the resultant penalty kick.

Heartland’s new
coaching crew is made up of the duo of Samson Siasia and Ezeugo who
recently took up the appointment of managing the team and had just four
training sessions with the first team squad before their match against
the Egyptian side that has won a record six Champions League titles. At
the moment the coaching crew is concentrating on the getting to know
the team but they also want to see how best they can work together to
achieve their goals in subsequent games beginning with their July 31
game in Algeria against JS Kabylie.

Rest days

The players didn’t
train on Monday and Tuesday but preparations for the tie against the
Algerians will begin in earnest on Wednesday according to Ezeugo.
“There’s no training today,” disclosed the former Super Eagles
midfielder in a telephone interview with NEXTSports. “We gave the
players an opportunity to rest but training will begin on Wednesday.”
The Algerian side currently top the Group B standings after securing a
crucial 1-0 away win over Egypt’s Ismaily with the only goal arriving
15 minutes from time from the head of Essaid Belkalem after a corner
kick. “We will try to know the players and their coaches, see the way
they play and build up from there,” continued Ezeugo who also added
that the coaching crew saw last Sunday’s game as an opportunity to
watch the players in competitive mood and discover their loopholes, top
of which is their inability to convert chances that came their way into
goals. “We would have to work on their finishing. The boys created good
chances but failed to convert them,” added Ezeugo who also disclosed
the club’s plans to play a series of friendly matches with some local
teams even though the specifics have not been put in place. The team
would be in Nigeria until July 29 when they plan to head out to Algeria
to acclimatize. The match will be played in Algiers on July 31, a day
before Al- Ahly takes on Ismaily in Cairo.