Uganda Cranes striker Steven Mukwala says Simba SC’s CAF Confederation Cup final tie against RS Berkane is “not over yet,” despite the Tanzanian club falling 2-0 in the first leg played in Morocco on Saturday.
Speaking to Pan-Africa Football, Mukwala remained optimistic that Simba can turn the tie around when they host the return leg on May 25.
“Basically, the game wasn’t bad,” said Mukwala. “We tried as players to fight so hard, to make sure that at least we could get a point, but it wasn’t on our side. So we don’t have to blame anyone. Right now, we need to go home and focus for the next game.”
Mukwala stressed that the team still has everything to play for.
“We must try to rectify the mistakes that we made and get ready, and we believe the return leg will be much better than this. We have only played 90 minutes, and we still have more.”
RS Berkane, who are chasing their third CAF Confederation Cup crown, scored both goals within the opening 20 minutes, a period Mukwala acknowledged was decisive.
“If you watched the game, Berkane came on a high note, like they were pressing us so hard. I believe we did not concede under pressure—it was the fact Berkane did very well in the first 20 minutes, with no doubt about it.”
“The good thing is we managed to pick ourselves up after the 15 minutes, and we also tried to play our style. I believe in the return leg, we will pull up our socks and play better than we started in Berkane.”
Simba SC will now look to rally behind Mukwala’s belief and overturn the deficit in front of their home fans, while RS Berkane aim to seal their third title in the competition.
