Medeama coach Ibrahim Tanko explains early CAF Champions League elimination

Medeama head coach Ibrahim Tanko believes a lack of experience at the continental level played a major role in his side’s early elimination from the CAF Champions League. The Ghana Premier League champions saw their campaign come to an end in the first preliminary round after succumbing to a 3-1 defeat to TP Mazembe in the second leg clash in Lubumbashi on Sunday.

Prior to the return fixture in DR Congo, the Yellow and Mauve had suffered a narrow defeat at the TNA Stadium in Tarkwa. The Congolese giants, however, progressed to the second phase with a 4-1 aggregate victory.

Medeama travelled to DR Congo knowing they needed to overturn the first-leg deficit, but their task became significantly more difficult just three minutes into the encounter when Patrick Mwaungulu opened the scoring for Mazembe.

The hosts continued to take advantage of their strong start and extended their lead in the 19th minute through Josué Kazema, leaving Tanko’s side two goals behind on the night and three goals away from progressing on aggregate.

Medeama needed to respond quickly, but Mazembe remained in control and made it even harder for the visitors when Mwaungulu struck again in the 76th minute from a free-kick to make it 3-0. Dominic Amponsah eventually pulled a goal back for Medeama, but the response came too late to change the outcome of the tie as Mazembe comfortably secured their passage to the next round.

Reflecting on the defeat, Tanko admitted that some of his players struggled to handle the pressure and intensity of playing at such a high level of continental competition for the first time. “Like I said before, we gave the goals up. Unfortunately, we have a lot of players who are playing here for the first time, at this level, so definitely they are jittery a bit.”

“We made very good changes, and then we pressed to get the goals, but unfortunately it didn’t work out well.” The elimination will come as a disappointment to Medeama, who had hoped their domestic success would provide a platform for a strong return to Africa’s premier club competition.

However, Tanko and his players will now have to turn their attention to domestic football while using the experience gained from the two-legged tie as preparation for future continental campaigns. For a squad containing several players still adapting to the demands of African club football, the encounters against Mazembe are likely to provide valuable lessons, particularly in dealing with pressure, managing difficult away matches and avoiding costly defensive mistakes.

TP Mazembe, meanwhile, move into the next stage of the competition after completing a convincing aggregate victory over the Ghanaian champions.