Tunisia-Murad Teyeb: Club Sfaxien coach Murad Mahjoub said his team was ready to take on defending champions Ahli in their African Champions League match on Saturday. Sfaxien's final rehearsal for the continental encounter was a 2-0 win over rivals Etoile Sahel in the Tunisian Cup on Sunday. "We overcame Etoile's obstacle with no injuries, and we are more than ready for Ahli," Mahjoub told FilGoal.com. Sfaxien's win over Etoile came in the absence of six of their first-team members who were on international duty with the Tunisian national and Olympic teams. Mahjoub, however, got the chance to field some of his reserves like Zoubeir Essafi and Mohamed Al-Mashriqi. Yet, Mahjoub was unhappy with the Tunisian FA's decision to schedule the game ahead of the important game against Ahli. "We asked Tunisian FA officials to postpone the game, but they refused," said the veteran coach.
Mahjoub "We will be representing Tunisia in Cairo, and we don't want our players to be exhausted or pick up injuries before the game." The Tunisian champions need a draw from their game against Ahli to secure passage to the semi-finals, but if Sfaxien lose, they will have to fight it out with Asante Kotoko of Ghana in the final round. "Sfaxien and Ahli deserve reaching the semi-finals," said Tunisian club president Slahedinne Zahaf. "Our qualification may be postponed till after the Cairo game," Zahaf admitted. "But we can still do it because our last game will be in Tunisia." Sfaxien are in charge of Group A on 9 points from four matches, two ahead of second-placed Ahli. The Tunisian contingent, which consists of 30 people including 20 players, is scheduled to arrive in Cairo on Thursday. They will be accompanied by a large number of fans who will make the trip to support their team in the tough clash, Sfaxiens's official website said.
