Shabana FC head coach Ahmed Fathi has declared his side ready for their much-anticipated clash against AFC Leopards at Nyayo Stadium, insisting his team has enjoyed a good week of preparation ahead of the encounter.
The Egyptian revealed that the Shabana technical team spent the week analyzing their previous matches, identifying weaknesses and working to address them ahead of the weekend fixture.
“You know, every week after a game, we go home, watch the match and analyze. Then we discover where our problems are and we try to solve them throughout the week,” Fathi said.
“We had very good preparation this week, and we tried to solve all the problems that we had in the last game. So, we are ready. We are going for a big clash.”
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The Shabana boss acknowledged the significance of the fixture, describing it as a major clash given the passionate support surrounding both clubs.
The encounter also presents Shabana with an opportunity to avenge last season’s results, with AFC Leopards completing a league double over them.
In his first season at the club, Fathi will be hoping to guide Shabana to a different outcome this time as they look to end Leopards’ recent dominance in the fixture.
The Egyptian, who has guided Shabana to four points from their opening two matches, said his side will approach the encounter with a winning mentality.
“Every game, if we don’t go into it with a winning mentality, we will lose a lot. Every game, wherever we go, we go to win. We prepare ourselves to win, and we have the ability to win,” he said.
“We have enough preparation to win. We will do our best, we will fight hard and we have to give our soul in this game to win.”
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Shabana have scored once in their opening two matches, but the glamour Boys tactician believes it is too early to conclude that his team has a goalscoring problem.
He instead pointed to the defensive solidity of his side, noting that Shabana have yet to concede a goal.
“It is very early to say this, only two games. A 1-0 is normal result in football, and even 0-0 is normal result,” he said.“Why don’t you look at it from another side? We defended very well and we didn’t concede any goal.”
The Egyptian added that Shabana have been creating chances despite their limited goalscoring return and revealed that improving their attacking output was one of the areas they worked on during the week.
“We didn’t score, but we created chances. We worked a lot on this point this week, and I hope we will show a better performance in the next game.”
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With AFC Leopards also expected to bring a strong following, the Shabana boss called on his supporters to turn up in large numbers and provide the team with the backing he believes will be crucial.
“For me, always, for Shabana supporters, we are waiting for you more and more, guys. You are the spirit of this team,” he said.
The Egyptian praised the supporters who attended their previous match but urged even more fans to make their way to the stadium for the AFC Leopards clash.
“We need you to come more and more. We are waiting for you in the stadium. In this moment, with big teams, with big supporters like AFC, we need to show again that we are a big team, we are big supporters, and we can bring this soul to our team and fight enough in the game.”
A win for either side would provide a significant boost early in the campaign. For Shabana, victory would offer an opportunity to respond to last season’s double defeat to Leopards and strengthen their start under the Egyptian.
For AFC Leopards, a win would take their tally to seven points as they look to keep pace with Gor Mahia, who have made a perfect start to the campaign.