Aduana Stars vs Al Tahady: Abubakar hopeful to overturn scoreline in Dormaa Ahenkro

Aduana Stars coach Yussif Abubakar will look to pursue an almost flawless start at home to his tenure as the Ghana Premier League champions welcome Libyan side Al Tahady in the second leg of the Caf Champions League preliminary round  at the Nana Agyemang Badu I Park on Wednesday. 

After the first leg ended 1-0 in favour of Al Tahady, when Aduana displayed a worrying motif of slipping behind in the early stages of the game in Egypt, the 'Ogya' lads currently look poised for the return fixture despite initial confusion caused by the visitors. 

The Libyans, who are making their debut journey to Ghana, according to reports in the local media, rejected all the travelling arrangements made by Aduana and decided to travel by bus from Accra to Kumasi instead of using a flight. They later petitioned Caf to change the venue from Dormaa Ahenkro to Baba Yara Sports Stadium in Kumasi or they will pull out since the distance from the latter where they initially camped to the match venue is more than 200km as stated in the competition rules.

However, a delegation from Ghana FA met the top hierarchy of Al Tahady and they agreed to move from Kumasi to camp in Sunyani which is relatively closer and honour the game.

In spite of all the controversies before kickoff, Aduana manager Yussif Abubakar is brimming with confidence that he will get a decent result and qualify the club to first round of the competition for the first time in their history.

"We're aware of the task ahead of us and have not concentrated on negative issues surrounding the game. North African clubs have their own antics ahead of crucial games so I told my players to remain calm and prepare for them," Abubakar told the media.

"We believe that qualification won't come easy but we're confident we can achieve it. We did not know much about them prior to the first leg but it is a different story now since we've gathered enough materials to help us win and qualify," he added.

Ghana national team coach Kwesi Appiah also arrived at the venue a day before kickoff and has teamed up with Aduana's technical team to bring a glimmer of hope.

"From the little I've seen and heard, Aduana are ready for Al Tahady and I'm expecting a win," Appiah told Angel FM.

"I believe they will qualify as well on Wednesday to make Ghanaians proud since previous Ghanaian clubs have failed to leave up to the expectations," he added.

Aduana missed the services of striker Yahaya Mohammed in the first leg due to a knee injury but the former Asante Kotoko star has been passed fit and can play part of the game if selected.

The winner of the tie will meet either ES Setif (Algeria) or Olympique de Bangui (Central Africa Rep) in the first round.