John Bocco and Joash Onyango of Simba SC players.Simba SC.

Caf Champions League: Simba SC's Matola, Bocco deliver encouraging messages ahead of Al Ahly tie

Simba SC assistant coach Selemani Matola and captain John Bocco have delivered encouraging messages ahead of the Caf Champions League clash against Al Ahly on Tuesday.

Matola and Bocco agree the tie against the African champions at the Benjamin Mkapa Stadium will be tough but they are ready to fight for wins.

"Let me say for sure it is going to be a very tough match even though we managed to get a win in the previous game [vs AS Vita]," Matola said in a pre-match conference. "This is the Champions League and for that sole reason, there is no opponent who can be regarded as a weak one.

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"But we have prepared ourselves well knowing Al Ahly are a top team but our main aim remains to pick a win at home."

Matola also confirmed there are no injury cases within their squad at the moment.

"I am happy that the players who were registered for this competition are in camp and fit and that is a big advantage for the coaching panel because they have a large pool of players to select from," he said.

"We can only wait and see who will be selected to start but I am happy to announce we are in superb form given that no one is injured."

On his part, Bocco stated how they have had proper training sessions ahead of these second group game.

"On the part of players, we are in good mood, we have prepared well and we believe we will be playing in an environment of high spirit with the main target being picking a home win," the forward said.

"We believe we have learnt important lessons from the coaches ahead of the game and we respect our opponents who are an experienced side when it comes to Champions League."

Both Matola and Bocco also delivered messages specifically for the fans ahead of the crucial tie in Dar es Salaam.

"We always know the fans are the 12th player and we need them as we take on Al Ahly on Tuesday. We promise that we will do all we can in order to make them happy," Matola said.

"I urge the fans o turn out in their large numbers and we promise we are going to represent the team superbly and fight for a win," said Bocco.

The skipper also insisted they are not only encouraged by the rewards promised if they beat Al Ahly, but they will also get into the pitch to fight and achieve the club's ambitions.

"We are not looking at the rewards promised but we are keen to go and play as players of Simba are expected to play," concluded the Premier League winner. "We have experienced players who know what they want from this game.

"We will be fighting knowing what the targets for Simba are for this season and that is the main reason we are going to fight even hard."

Simba will host the Egyptian giants after beating AS Vita 1-0 in Group A's opener in Kinshasa.

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