Wydad Casablanca coach Walid Regragui has attributed his team’s 3-1 away win over Angolan opposition Petro de Luanda to bitter lessons gained from losing to Kaizer Chiefs last year.
He said this in a post-match interview after Wydad beat the Angolan opposition in the CAF Champions League semi-final first leg match on Saturday afternoon.
Regragui attributed the victory to the experience of playing in the continental competition.
“What is important in the semifinal is the spirit. It is the small details. You score with one free kick. In these games, you need the quality, and my team has experience because we played in the semifinal last season and we lost against Kaizer Chiefs, and maybe you learn from that, and you don’t repeat the same mistakes.”
Last year, Chiefs beat Wydad in their backyard in Morocco in the semi-final first leg before the second leg ended goalless. Chiefs qualified for the final and lost 3-0 to Al Ahly.
Regragui said they played to their strength by waiting for Petro de Luanda to boss possession and strike at the right moment.
“The plan today was easy—you wait because you know the opposition wants to play football, you play tiki-taka; hence you need to know your strength,” he said.
He, however, warned Wydad players: “I played football, and I know it is not finished.”
Wydad will now host Petro de Luanda in Morocco in the second leg. The overall winner will date either Al Ahly or ES Setif in the final.
By Peter Kanjere
