Medeama SC are this season making an appearance in the continent’s elite inter-club competition; CAF Champions League.
The Mauves and Yellow bested Nigerian outfit Remo Stars and Guinean Giants to advance to the group stage of the competition and are drawn to play Africans giants Al Ahly, Young Africans SC of Tanzania and Algeria's CR Belouizdad. In all honesty, The Ghanaian champions probably picked up the difficult possible opposition.
Having no experience in a continental club competition, it was always going to be tough for Evans Adotey and his Medeama team.
That was the narrative before the start of the campaign, especially after being drawn against Remo Stars, but so far, any early doubts have been banished.
On this journey, they’ve been faced with disturbing disparities, one with devastating force and another where they have barely shown up. Saturday’s tie against Egypt's Al Ahly at the Al Salam stadium in Cairo will prove to be a difficult test for the Tarkwa lads.
Ahly, a side that encapsulates a dogged determinism and a destructive dynamism, there will be no quarter given; Medeama will not be allowed to slip for a moment.
The Egyptian giants have won the competition for a record eleven times, and have been impressive at home in recent weeks- outplaying, outrunning and outscoring their opponents and making their home grounds a fortress to visiting teams.
Ahly have in their fold experienced Ali Maaloul and Malian import Aliou Dieng, so do they have , another dangerous player who shields the back four. As a club that thrives on counter attacking football, their tricky wingers of Hussein El Shahat (LW) and Percy Tau (RW) will be let loose on the Ghanaians.
One key element that can make or break Medeama's African journey is the tactics Adotey will utilise. He’s known for his tactical masterpiece but managers sometimes do commit tactical suicide that affects their teams. Adotey must make his defence impregnable to avoid an unwanted goal by the hosts.
However, we can be rest assured that Medeama won’t lack in scoring plenty goals with the ruthless Johnathan Sowah leading their attack. The Ghanaian club play fluid attacking football that births goals.
Adotey's team need to be very cautious when attacking and also do their very best to prevent Tau, Maaloul and El Shahat from crossing the ball. Medeama's midfield will also need to outplay the ingenuity of midfield maestro Dieng.
The Ghanaians are at a point where this tie will define the success or failure in the competition. Should Evans Adotey and his charges grind a favourable result, it will be a glorious one.
The problem is that Marcel Koller and Al Ahly don’t give a jot about this and perhaps offer the Ghanaians one of the toughest ties they could have faced. There will be no room for error, no complacency, and the Tarkwa lads will have to show a side of them that even their most loyal fans are not sure they have.
To achieve that, they must first play above themselves and ensure they won’t replicate the lackluster performance that characterised their play in the second half of their game against the Guineans in Cape Coast a couple of months ago.
By: Godfred Budu and Micky Jnr
