Police VI aim for Al Ahly scalp
Calistus Kolantsho | Friday April 5, 2019 12:12
Al Ahly are expected to go all out in order to defend their title against 22 continental teams who have gathered in the North African country. The Egyptian side has 13 crowns under its belt.
On Saturday, Police VI take on Al Ahly from Libya, in a game Ditau are tipped to prevail in.
Police VI have been on form after winning two matches.
They twice came from behind to beat AS INJS from Ivory Coast 3-2 in their previous encounter. In the first match, Ditau walloped Mugher from Ethiopia 3-0. Police coach, Shimaka Ngwanaotsile told Mmegi Sport from Cairo that they are up to the fight in their second appearance at the continental competition. Police VI had a poor debut in 2018 and want to atone for the disappointment.
“We knew the style of play here. So our preparations were based on that. The best clubs here are from North Africa, so to beat teams from Central Africa easily you have to try to match yourself with teams from North Africa,” he said. Ngwanaotsile said during preparations, they worked on their weakness, and emphasised on being more defensive than offensive.
“If you are defensive, you score more than when you are offensive. Every time we serve, we make sure that we block so that we keep the ball on our side all the time,” he said.
Ngwanaotsile said teams competing at the African Club championship are the best from different zones, which makes the competition tough. “We hope to go further in the competition. Our aim is to take one game at a time and by doing so, we would get positive results,” Ngwanaotsile said. He added that their aim is to reach the quarterfinals. Botswana Volleyball Federation (BVF) vice president-technical, George Keotsene said Police VI have shown maturity compared to the first time they competed in the championship.
“They now have Al Ahly standing in their way to the quarterfinals. Al Ahly is a difficult customer to deal with. But we cannot take the Libyan side lightly. They are also a force to reckon with,” he said.
Keotsene said local women’s teams have been taking part in the African Club Championship, going further in the competition but now things have changed due to financial challenges.