‘Not yet over:’ Staggering Tusker eye miracle against Singida in Confederations Cup return tie
NAIROBI, Kenya, October 19, 2026 – Tusker head coach Julien Mette has promised that they will pull out all stops to beat Singida Black Stars in the return leg of their Caf Confederations Cup preliminary round tie in Tanzania next weekend.
The Frenchman said the brewers will not shrink back but will come at their opponents with an unstoppable force.
“We will still have a good possession game. This will not change…they will not have the ball…this will not change. They will try to preserve the result and have one or two opportunities in counter-attack. We know what we are going to face now it is up to us to be proud and brave enough and to have the desire and the will to win the game,” Mette said.
The domestic cup champions cross the border in desperate need of a win after a 1-0 loss to the African giants in the first leg of the tie at the Nyayo Stadium on Sunday evening.
Congolese import Jeancy Mboma scored the all-important goal at the start of the second half, squeezing his shot from the left past his fellow countryman, Perrauld Ndinga, who had left his near post unguarded.
The manner of the winner left Mette with a sore spot in the heart considering that the visitors had created nothing of note until then.
“Until the goal they scored coming from another galaxy, they had zero shot on target and absolutely zero opportunity, no danger. We have learnt our lesson…don’t forget we don’t have experience in this competition because Tusker have never qualified for the group stage. Last year, Singida were in the group stage so they are more prepared in terms of experience,” he observed.
The former Rayon Sports tactician conceded that the goal was payback for their profligacy in front of goal.
“In football, you get what you deserve, no matter how cruel. If you don’t want to score and the opponent has only one opportunity to score and they try, maybe they deserved to win the game. We need strikers, wingers…attackers to decide the destiny of the team at their feet. Do you want to be the hero or not?” Mette said.
Excuses notwithstanding, Mette said he is keen to recollect his charges as soon as possible, to thresh out the finer details of their strategy to outwit their experienced opponents.
“We have one week to correct that (attacking bluntness). We will work on it on the training pitch…we will do video sessions,” he said.
The brewers are playing continental football since 2021/22 when they fell out at the preliminary stage of the same competition after a 1-0 loss to Tunisia’s CF Sfaxien.
They had previously exited the Caf Champions League at the hands of Egyptian giants Zamalek.