By Patrick Akoto

Berekum Chelsea trainer Hans Vander Pluijm has praised the effort of his players despite their exits from the Caf Champions League.

The Ghanaians failed to qualify to the semi-finals after settling for a 1-1 draw against Egyptian giants Zamalek over the weekend.

The Blues needed to pick maximum points to enhance their prospect of making into the last four but their defensive frailties came to haunt them once again.

TP Mazembe’s 2-0 win over record holders Al Ahly killed off the ambitions.

But their Dutch trainer is refusing to blame his players and insists they deserve plaudits for their feat.

“I congratulate the players for what they have been able to do. Even though we couldn’t qualify to the semi-finals, I believe they have done well,” Pluijm said

“If you look at the fact that we were paired against experienced teams, then we should just say that the players have done well,”

“It is a good lesson for the future. If you look at our performance and analyse it properly you will see that we didn’t do badly,”

“We made lot errors in the defense and that did not help us. We also wasted numerous chances. But surely we should be a bit disappointed but hey, the boys have tried.”

Chelsea must now turn their attention to the domestic League which starts on October 6.