CAIRO - Hossam el-Badri, the Enppi technical coach, said that the game against Burundi's Lydia Academic in Cairo Saturday was not as easy as some people believed. The game is part of the second leg of the African Confederation Cup's round 32 and will take place Saturday at the Military Sports Stadium in Cairo at 7:00pm Cairo Local Time (CLT). "The positive result we achieved in the first leg in Burundi does not guarantee qualification for the next round, because of present circumstances," el-Badri told Cafonline.com. El-Badri, the ex-Ahly technical coach, added that he had full trust in the players' abilities and their experience to win the match against Lydia and qualify for round 16. "The team has many experienced players; they played in international matches for the senior and Olympic team," el-Badri added. He expressed the hope that his team would move to round 16. He pointed out that their opponent had talented players led by efficient coaching staff. Enppi drew 1-1 with Burundi's Lydia Academic in the first leg of the African Confederation Cup round 32 in Burundi, thanks to a blunder by Enppi's goalkeeper Ali Lotfi. Lydia went ahead, but an equaliser from midfielder Adel Moustafa saved the day for the Petroleum team. "The suspension of local sports activities has a negative impact on the team; the players do not have sufficient opportunities to take part in official games," he said, expressing his hope that sports activities would resume as soon as possible. El-Badri said that the current conditions in Egypt were making things more difficult for Al-Ahly and Zamalek than for Enppi in the African Champions League. "Playing games behind closed doors and in the Petro Sport Stadium – Enppi's official stadium – will affect the Ahly and Zamalek players more. Fans boost the players and arouse their feelings during matches. "But we must accept to play the games without our fans, due to the security authorities' request," el-Badri added and pointed out that Lydia was a good team and his players enjoyed their speed and strength.
