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Nigeria’s sole
representative in the CAF Champions League competition, Heartland FC of
Owerri, have a daunting task today as the team needs an outright
victory over their opponent, Isamaily Club of Egypt, to still harbour
any hope of moving into the semi finals of Africa’s biggest club
football competition.

The match, billed
for the Ismaila Stadium in Egypt, is important to both teams as a win
for either side will lift it up the table which currently sees
Heartland occupying the third spot with just a point from two matches,
while Ismaily are bottom placed with no points.

Match officials
from Sudan have been chosen to handle the match with centre referee
Abdel R. Khalid leading his other assistants; Ahmed Ali Waleed, Bakheit
Awad and Rassas Librato.

Chasing history

Heartland are
seeking to become the second Nigerian team after Enyimba to win the
prestigious CAF Trophy and are currently been handled by the duo of
Samson Siasia and Emeka Ezuego.

A narrow 1-0 loss
to Algerian side J. S. Kabylie in their last match has made today’s
game a must win for Siasia if he hopes to match and possibly surpass
the record of his predecessors.

The Naze
Millionaires, as the Nigerian team is sometimes referred to, were
beaten finalist in the last edition of the competition while still
under the tutelage of the duo Kelechi Emetiole and Ben Iroha, who were
both sacked just before the commencement of the Group phase of this
year’s competition.

Though the timing
of the sack of the team’s bench was highly criticised, some still
believe in the ability of the new technical team led by Siasia to do
well despite the odds against the team.

Ike’s support

One of such
optimist is ex-international Ike Shorunmu who believes Heartland can
still qualify for the semi-finals despite the team’s current precarious
postion.

“There is still
hope of qualifying for the semi-finals if they can win their next match
(today’s game). I believe this is possible because Heartland have
quality players and Coach Samson Siasia would have worked on the
weaknesses he has noticed in the team in their last two matches” he
posited.

The former Super
Eagles goal keeper trainer also counselled the team not to be carried
away or intimidated by some of the big names in the Egyptian team.

“Heartland should
not be intimidated by the fact that some of Ismaily players are in the
Egyptian national teams. What they possess is a better league, not
better players.

“Siasia can improve the quality of the team if given the right assistance.”

Heartland has done
well to retain the core of the team that reached last year’s final with
only Uche Agba and former national U-17 player Stanley Okoro the
notable absentees following their respective transfers overseas.

Captain’s belief

Meanwhile,
Heartland captain Ike ThankGod said the team has put behind them the
defeat against JS Kabylie of Algeria and are now focused on getting the
maximum points at stake in today’s game.

“We know the
importance of today’s game and we know we cannot afford another slip,
we going all out for victory and we believe it is quite possible” he
said.

While reflecting on
the team’s last game, ThankGod admitted that the defeat came as a
result of a loss in concentration by the defenders and the failure of
the team’s forwards to take the few chances that came their way.

“We could have
picked up a draw or even won that game, our performance was not
entirely bad but we failed to take our chances when we had the
opportunities.

“Right now we are
focusing on our next match against Ismaily. I‘m confident we are going
to win against Ismaily home and away. That will give seven points and
from there we‘ll see what comes up.” the Super Eagles fringe player
boasted.

Other match

In the day’s other
fixture, current group leaders, J.S Kabylie of Algeria will be up
against the second placed team, Al Ahly of Egypt.

A win for J.S.K
will give it an unassailable lead of nine points and could mean well
for Heartland if they seize the moment in Egypt to increase their tally
to four points which makes them equal or above Ahly depending on the
margin of victory.

Meanwhile, Egypt
and Algeria have agreed to put behind them the bitter feud which became
rife on the eve of the last World Cup in South Africa when both teams
where seeking Africa’s last ticket to the Mundial.

Both teams have warned their supporters’ against fomenting trouble in what portends to be an exciting match later today.