Ncikazi hopes Pirates impose themselves against RS Berkane

Orlando Pirates co-coach Mandla Ncikazi is hopeful his wards will impose themselves in Friday’s TotalEnergies CAF Confederation Cup final against RS Berkane in Uyo.

Ncikazi was in no playful mood when he spoke to www.aclsports.com on Thursday ahead of Friday’s final, hoping that the South Africans take home the trophy.

The Bucs arrived Uyo late on Wednesday evening after some hitches but Ncikazi believes that will not deter his side from achieving their goal.

“Adversity is the breakfast for champions. Sometimes when things are proper, that’s when they’re not proper. When you’ve got challenges, you use that to your advantage,” he told www.aclsports.com on Thursday evening.

RS Berkane have a rich history of recent in the competition, winning once and losing once in the final within the last four years. They also eliminated one of African club powerhouses TP Mazembe en route to Friday’s final.

Ncikazi is quite aware of the danger the Moroccan side portend to them but he is confident of what his team can achieve.

“North Africans are unique in how they play and how they approach the game. They’re very technical, very strong at set-plays. They’re very physical too but your advantage can be your disadvantage. They do have areas where we think we can exploit.

“We just have to be ourselves. When we have the ball, impose ourselves and use our individual brilliance which we are good with and if we do that well, I think we will surprise our opponents,” he added.

The 2021/2022 TotalEnergies CAF Confederation Cup final will be staged at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium, Uyo starting from 8pm local time on Friday.

Fisayo Dairo reporting from Uyo