Al Ittihad Coach Praises Royal Leopard

Al Ittihad Tripoli coach Mohamed Kouki was full of praise for Royal Leopard of eSwatini after their CAF Confederation Cup group stages meeting on Sunday.

The Libyan side labored and registered a narrow 2-1 win in a delayed Group B matchday two fixture played at Mbombela Stadium in South Africa.

It was a good result for Kouki and his charges, though he feels for his opponents who were unlucky to lose.

“They are a very good team with some good players. I have to also give credit to my team because they played very well under pressure when Leopards came at them,” said Kouki in an interview with CAFOnline.

“Physically we were very tired, and they put all their players in attack, but we did well to resist them. The goalkeeper had quite a good match and the important thing for us is the three points which we have taken.”

Kouki added that Leopard seemed not to be well prepared mentally for the match and they need to adjust it before their remaining matches.

“I think they were not ready mentally to win this match. They did however make it difficult for us today, but we were good in defence even though they came at us,” he noted.

[perfectpullquote align=”full” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]“They have some really good players and can grow in this competition. I think Leopard is a good team and credit must go to them for a good showing.”[/perfectpullquote]

Al Ittihad top the Group B with seven points, just one point ahead of South African giants Orlando Pirates, while Leopard remain at the bottom with no point from three games.