Mighty Bulls’ golden chance

clash against ASEC Mimosas at Rufaro tomorrow after the encounter was reduced to a one-legged affair by the Confederation of African Football.
Caf yesterday invoked their standing rules on dealing with cases where a match cannot be played over two legs due to problems related to security at the home of one of the teams.
The continental soccer body noted that the on-going civil unrest in Cote d’Ivoire would not make it conducive for ASEC to host the Mighty Bulls in the return leg in two weeks time.
Caf also took a similar decision in another Champions League game pitting Libya’s Al Ittihad and Ivorian side JC Abidjan which will be played a neutral venue at a date to be set because of unrest in both countries.
Motor Action have been experiencing sleepless nights over the security situation in Cote d’Ivoire but yesterday they were a relieved lot after Caf communicated their official postion on the matter.
Article 15.5 of the competition regulations says that a tie can be decided over one leg if the opponents’ country is in a war situation.
Caf confirmed in a statement that they have reviewed all games involving teams from strife-stricken countries like Libya and Cote d’Ivoire.
“The Confederation of African Football has reviewed three matches of this weekend’s 1/16th round continental club championships due to the current political situations in the countries of the concerned clubs.
“The games involved are the Orange Caf Champions League matches, Motor Action (Zimbabwe) versus Asec Mimosas (Cote d’Ivoire) and J.C.A. Treichville (Cote d’Ivoire) against Ittihad (Libya), and the Orange Caf Confederation Cup match between USFA (Burkina Faso) and Africa Sport (Cote d’Ivoire).
“Following the political situation in Cote d’Ivoire and in line with Article 5 paragraph 15 of the regulations, we hereby confirm that only one decisive match will be played in Zimbabwe for the Motor Action – Asec Mimosas encounter on 18, 19 or 20 March 2011,” Caf said.
The Mighty Bulls are taking part in the Champions League for the first time and should be delighted by Caf’s decision knowing that it was not going to be an easy task in the return leg in Abidjan.
Caf’s decision means that Motor Action cannot afford any slip-up at home this time around.
Last month the Mighty Bulls scraped into the first round after a hard-fought victory over Madagascar side CNAPS Sports in a penalty shootout after their tie had ended tied 1-1 on aggregate.
Motor Action had slumped to a surprise 1-0 defeat at Rufaro before they won by a similar margin to draw level and force the game to be decided by a penalty shootout.
While the Mighty Bulls were struggling on their Champions League debut, ASEC powered their way into the first round with an embarrassingly one-sided 9-0 aggregate win over Central Africa Republic side Real Bangui.
Motor Action assistant coach David George had earlier warned on Wednesday that the Mighty Bulls needed to make full use of their home advantage against ASEC and win at Rufaro.
That has become even more significant now that the tie has been reduced to a one-off match.
Motor Action director Eric Rosen yesterday said he was relieved by the decision and hoped that his team would capitalise on home advantage to get a positive result and qualify for the second round. On a financial aspect Caf’s decision also comes as a blessing in disguise for the Mighty Bulls, who would make huge savings on travel costs for the reverse fixture which was pencilled in for the weekend of April 1-3.
“Obviously we are relieved because we were really worried by the events in Cote d’Ivoire.
“It’s sad what is happening there but there was no way we were going to risk our lives by going to fulfill a fixture.
“I had written a letter to Zifa over this and I am glad we got this response. We just received information from Zifa that we will play a one-off game and, it being the decider, I am happy to play at home. We hope to get a positive result which will take us to the next round,” said Rosen.
The Caf Regulations on Champions League Article 5. 15 says that in the event of a draw the teams will head to the penalty shootout to decide the winner. Asec Mimosas are scheduled to arrive in Harare this afternoon after failing to arrive yesterday as expected.
The 1998 African champions will be coming with all guns blazing after the players were briefed of the task at hand by the club president Francis Ouegnin before their departure yesterday.
Ouegnin, however told the club website that he was not pleased by the late communication of the decision.
“It is rather deplorable that Caf made this decision three days before the crucial match. Cases of (the other Ivorian clubs) Africa Sports and J.C.A Treichville are different since their matches will take place on April 1 or 3, which leaves them with good time to prepare.
“It is a disadvantage to our team but our players were informed yesterday evening and it is with that spirit that any battle they are to launch they return with the qualification to Abidjan,” said Ouegnin.
ASEC left Abidjan yesterday with a strong delegation of 25 members that included 17 players led by club secretary-general Djoman Francis.
ASEC Squad:
Goalkeepers: Yéboah Techi Daniel, Sanogo Moussa Defenders: Koffi Gautier, Sogodogo Lamine, Okou Zahui Stéphane, Diomandé Ahmed Hervé, Sankara RobertMidfielders: Zagbayou Hugues Evrard, Séri Jean Michaël, Diaby Aboubacar, Kouakou N’Doua Irénée, Mangoua Késsé, Dogba Gnabo Ange Pacôme
Strikers: Bougouhi Jean Jacques, Boua Koffi Davy, Bakayoko Adama, Halidou Garba.