Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Jayapura: Persipura Jayapura are sweating on the fitness of captain Boaz Solossa for their AFC Cup semi-final clash with Qadsia Sporting Club but coach Jacksen Tiago is confident that his team can overcome a two-goal deficit against the Kuwaiti side on Tuesday and become the first Indonesian club to reach the final.
Solossa is Persipura's leading scorer in the competition with six goals including one in their 4-2 loss to Qadsia in the first leg in Kuwait two weeks ago. However, the forward and Cameroonian defender Bio Paulin are carrying hamstring injuries and both will undergo fitness tests on Tuesday to assess their fitness for the second leg at Mandala Stadium.
While the potential absence of his captain could hamper Persipura's chances of turning around the two-goal deficit, Tiago still believes that his players can come back to win, just as they did in the quarter-finals against Kuwait Sporting Club.
"I think we need to do the same thing as we did against Kuwait SC," said the Brazilian, whose side erased a 3-2 first-leg deficit by trouncing the defending champions 6-1 in Jayapura.
"We started that game strongly and we scored three goals in the first half and we ended up winning by a big margin. "Our team is very strong especially when we play at home and we are very confident of our chances."
While Tiago has a healthy respect for the Kuwaiti side, he believes that his team will rise to the occasion once again in front of their home supporters.
"Tomorrow we can make history in the AFC Cup. Nobody expected us to be here in the semi-finals so we have nothing to lose and we will be giving our best to try to reach the final," he said.
"Qadsia are a good team with a lot of experience. They know how to control the game and they have been here before [in the AFC Cup semi-finals] so they know what to expect.
"But this is our moment. We may be two goals down but we are playing on our home ground and we have the support of our fans and all of us are confident that we can do it."
While Kuwait SC had little time to prepare for their quarter-final match, arriving in Jayapura just two days before their game, Qadsia touched down in Papua last Thursday in order to acclimatise to the conditions for the afternoon match at Mandala Stadium.
Runners-up in the AFC Cup in 2010 and 2013, the Kuwaiti club are determined to get to the final for a third time and coach Antonio Puche insisted that his team will not play a defensive game.
"It's going to a big battle and we will play a hard game," said the Spaniard. "Both teams already know each other and for me, Persipura are a good team with good players. They attack well and are very quick on the counter attack.
My football philosophy is to attack and we must attack to get goal and win the game. The weather here is not important and we will attack and attack because we want to go to the final and all of my players are ready for tomorrow."