Union Sportive Douala will take on Cross town rivals New Stars this Sunday at the Limbe Centenary Stadium as both sides go in search of their first points of the season.
History
Union of Douala (USD) came to life in 1958, and since then, they have been a power house in country and continental football as per the accolades; 5 League 1 trophies and 6 Cameroon cup’s, couple with the African cup winners cup and the African cup of champions cup won in 1981 and 1979 respectively.
-Club president: Frank Happy
-Head coach: Love
New Stars have a relatively smaller club history, as the club was found in 2008. New Stars of Douala played the Cameroon cup finals on two occasions, and succeeded in Winning their maiden silver wear in 2017.
-Club president: Domkeu Fausting.
-Head Coach: Gerard Mbimi
*Current form*
The two clubs put themselves in a precarious position, with the loss they swallowed in day 1
New stars 1- 3 Colombe
Tonnere 3-0 Union.
It would be bottom of the pile playing against second to the last_in order word’s a bottom of the table clash, that would see any looser on the hot seat already.
*Players to watch*
These clubs have acted as a reservoir for bigger clubs, and even the national team; Serge Andolo left New Stars to Coton sports, while Cedric Djeugoue appeared in the 2014 world cup against Mexico.
In this game, Lane Lakem would have to repay the confidence given to him by the head coach and club president, by leading the group with his armband by example.
Kemajou has already opened his account for this season, but the lad still has that urge to act as Figo Ngongang’s replacement in New Stars.
For USD nothing was positive in the heavy loss suffered in the hands of TKC, but the likes of Boudega and Baleguel can always make a nuisance of themselves to a seemingly week New Stars backline.
*Pitch condition*
The game would be played in the Limbe Centenary stadium. The surface is smooth and usually very heavily watered; causing quick movements of the ball, but rage tackles could also get in. The Limbe Centenary stadium is occasionally used by the junior category of the Lions, and was also selected as one of the training grounds for the AFCON.
Statistics
The game is a littoral derby, and it is all about the bragging rights. The two clubs have met 14 times; 4 wins at peace and 6 draws. In the 2018 season the two teams collected 3 points at home against each other;
– New Stars 1-0 USD
-USD 2-1 New Stars
*Reactions of Coaches*
After the 3-1 loss to Colombe, coach Garard Mbimi made controversial statements that rose speculations about his term at the helm of New Stars ; “This is not the New Stars I know, and if there’s anything wrong, the players should tell me”. However, speaking to kick442 reporters, the gaffer denied those rumours and he’s more concentrated for the derby.
Coach Love of USD had a sour debut as the coach of the club, and fans are putting him already under enormous pressure, and he would be expected to hit the ground running against their arch rivals; “we would correct some mistakes and see what we can do against New Stars”. Come Sunday the 10, if you’re not in Limbe, precisely Centenary
stadium then you’re missing a cracker.
Giovanni Wanneh.
