Dreams secured a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Soccer Intellectuals in the quarterfinals of the MTN FA Cup on Thursday afternoon.
Coach Karim Zito admitted that his team had to carefully manage their energy levels due to fatigue from their recent two-legged semi-final against Zamalek and an upcoming league clash with Bofoakwa Tano.
The Dawu-based club, which made history by lifting the MTN FA Cup trophy for the first time last season, hosted Soccer Intellectuals at the Theatre of Dreams. Abdul Aziz Issah scored the game's only goal in the first half, giving Dreams FC the edge they needed to progress to the semi-finals.
Zito explained that his team controlled possession and tried to penetrate Soccer Intellectuals' defense, but the opponents were hesitant to open up. After taking the lead, Dreams FC opted to manage the game and conserve energy for their upcoming league match against Bofoakwa Tano on Sunday.
"From the beginning of the game, you saw that we were in charge of the possession trying to penetrate through. But as you saw, they packed themselves, afraid to come out and open up. So we also decided to hold the ball, and after we got the one goal, we tried to manage the game until the end," Zito said after the game.
Addressing his players' energy levels, Zito acknowledged that fatigue played a role in their approach.
"Maybe because we got hold of the possession we didn't rush these same boys played the Egyptian game and seriously I can't deny the fact that there is a little bit of fatigue. We have to manage our movement manage the game to end it 1-0. As defending champions we are very happy to defend the cup and go back to Africa again. The possibility lies in us qualifying," he added.