Ethiopia champions, St. George will take on holders TP Mazembe of DR Congo in the first leg of the 1/16th round on Sunday in Bahir Dar, 700km north of the capital Addis Ababa.

However the visitors who arrived in Addis Ababa on Thursday were unhappy with the travel fans after they failed to travel using their charterted flight from Lumbumbashi this is after they failed to provide the Ethiopian authorities with their flight plan forcing them to take another flight to Bahir Dar .

On the other hand the St.George also known as the horsemen management have provided seven buses to ferry fans from Addis Ababa for the crucial CAF Champions league clash which will be played in the 80,000 capacity stadium.

St.George have camped in Bahir Dar since Tuesday under the tutelage of Dutch coach Mart Nooij to prepare for the big game that will decide their destiny in the competition.

After making easy work of Seychellois champions, St. Michel at the preliminary round winning  4-1 on aggregate, Nooij is hoping his charges will turn up in style against ‘Les Corbeaux’, highly favoured to advance to the next round.

A view which is shared by midfielder Minyahil Teshome, who insists they have what it takes to have the better of the encounter against the star-studded Congolese.

“We know that TP Mazembe is a strong force on the continent, but it doesn’t mean that we will concede defeat before the game. We are inspired by the results from the preliminary rounds. We are hopeful of victory on Sunday”, said the 30-year old midfielder.

On his part, former national team striker Adane Girma is also convinced that the DR Congo giants are beatable.

TP Mazembe’s skipper Joel Kimwaki speaking exclusively to Soka25east.com alluded to the fact that they would not underrate their opponents but were looking for a positive start in the first leg “Despite being defending champions we cannot underrate our opponents St.George as they are a seasoned side with veteran players however as a team our aim is to begin the competition away from home in a positive note before we travel back for the second leg back in Lumbumbashi”Kimwaki said.

However, some fans of St. George have kicked against the decision to host the match in Bahir Dar, a venue he described an unfamiliar territory.

“It will be like playing away from home. Our players are accustomed to playing in Addis Ababa and I feel it would have been better if we had played there” noted the fan, who said he will still make the journey to Bahir Dar to cheer him team to victory.

The second leg will take place on the weekend of 18-20 March 2016 in Lubumbashi.

Fixtures

Saturday, 12 March 2016

Sundowns (South Africa) vs AC Leopards (Congo)

Stade Malien (Mali) vs Coton Sport (Cameroon)

Zesco United (Zambia) vs Horoya (Guinea)

APR (Rwanda) vs Young Africans (Tanzania)

Kaizer Chiefs (South Africa) vs ASEC Mimosas (Cote d’Ivoire)

Club Africain (Tunisia) vs MO Bejaia (Algeria)

Wydad (Morocco) vs CNaPS (Madagascar)

Ahly Tripoli (Libya) vs El Hilal (Sudan)

Recreativo do Libolo (Angola) vs Ahly (Egypt)

Sunday, 13 March 2016

AS Vita (DR Congo) vs Ferroviaro (Mozambique)

Warri Wolves (Nigeria) vs El Merreikh (Sudan)

Etoile du Congo (Congo) vs ES Setif (Algeria)

St George (Ethiopia) vs TP Mazembe (DR Congo)

Enyimba (Nigeria) vs Vital’O (Burundi)

OC Khouribga (Morocco) vs Etoile du Sahel (Tunisia)

Union Douala (Cameroon) vs Zamalek (Egypt)

Collins Okinyo

Ex- CAF Media Expert. An expert on African football with over 15 years experience ,always with an ear to the ground with indepth knowledge of the game. I have worked for top publications including 7 years at www.supersport.com until i founded www.soka25east.com to quench the thirst of football lovers across the continent. I have trained young upcoming journalists who are now a voice in African football.I have covered World Cup,AFCON,CHAN,Champions League,Confederations Cup,Cecafa,Cosafa,Wafu and many other football tournaments across the World. Founder Football Africa Arena(FAA),Founder www.afrisportdigital.com