Diaw: CAFCL exit a big disappointment

Khadim Diaw of Horoya

Tuesday Apr 05, 2022. 14:00

Horoya AC left-back Khadim Diaw has expressed his disappointment at falling short in the CAF Champions League, but is targeting domestic honours to salvage something from their season.

The Guinean champions finished fourth in Group B after picking up just one win from their six matches in Africa’s elite club competition.

Lamine N’Diaye’s side did manage to beat group winners Raja Casablanca 2-1 in Conakry on matchday 4 and their campaign ended with a 1-1 draw against AmaZulu on Friday.

Diaw revealed that the capital club had set themselves a target of reaching the semi-finals, but admitted small mistakes cost them a place in the knockout stages.

“It’s a big disappointment, we always feel like we have the cards in our hands to win but unfortunately it’s defeats or draws and it’s been this since the start of the competition,” the 23-year-old told CAFOnline.

“And in a competition like the Champions League, you have to get your full points at home and we didn’t manage to do that because of small careless mistakes.

“And yet, we have the manpower and the experience. But we lacked the consistency and this small chance to achieve our objectives which were the basis of playing the leading roles.

“We were never taken for a ride during these matches, but all it took was one careless mistake to lose everything, for everything to crumble. It’s infuriating but that’s also top-level football.”

The Senegal international won the league title with Horoya AC last term and has set his sights on collecting all the trophies on offer in Guinea this year.

“This season I want to win the championship and all other domestic competitions,” he declared. “At the start, we had the collective objective of going into the Champions League semi-finals or even winning it, but it was a big disappointment. Currently, we must redouble our efforts to end the season in style.”