HOW Mine set the ball rolling for Zimbabwean teams in the African Safari this afternoon when they clash with Chouni of Zanzibar in the second leg, preliminary round of the Caf Confederation Cup with coach Philani Ncube declaring he will go all out in search of goals at the Amaan Stadium. Kick-off is 1530hrs.
WELLINGTON TONI SPORTS EDITOR
Tomorrow, it will be the turn of Dynamos in the Champions League as they seek to preserve a 3-0 lead against Mochudi Centre Chiefs at the National Stadium in Gaborone on the backdrop of their poor away poor form under Kalisto Pasuwa.
It is How Mine though, after an emphatic 4-0 triumph last week courtesy of a double from Kuda Musharu, Mernard Mupera and Warren Dube, who will be expecting to weather the Zanzibar storm and sail into the next round in their first attempt.
According to team chairman Mlondolozi Nkomo, they are ready to roll.
“We travelled well and arrived around 0300hrs. The coaches gave the boys a rest after the long flight. The team has had a two hour training session at the match venue from 1500hrs (artificial turf) with the later part of the session conducted under moderate rain.
“The team doctor has given all the players a clean bill of health and the head coach has indicated that he is going all out to attack and kill the tie early,” Nkomo told NewsDay Sport from Zanzibar yesterday evening.
How Mine are staying at the Ocean View Hotel-a decent place according to Nkomo-with a beautiful view of the Indian Ocean.
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Tomorrow, having endured a 1069km journey to Gaborone, the Zimbabwe champions are looking for better returns this time around after losing 1-0 to Gaborone United under Elvis Chiweshe on their last trip there.
The match takes place at the UB Stadium and the cheapest ticket is going for 30 pula with grandstands pegged at 50 pula.
Masimba Mambare and Ronald Chitiyo are very critical players in Kalisto Pasuwa’s quest to make headway in this competition due to their attacking prowess, ability to subtract a defender on the run and pin point passes.
A big boost for Dynamos is that Simba Sithole, formerly of Mamelodi Sundowns and Supersport United and former Ajax Cape Town’s Tafadzwa Rusike have made the trip, giving the coach further options in the attacking third.
This might necessitate changes in the Dynamos line up with either of Stephen Alimenda or Tawanda Muparati being dropped to create space for an attack minded individual. That is , unless, Pasuwa, decides on the proverbial parking the bus.
The Zimbabwe champions left Harare at around 1030am on Thursday and arrived in Bulawayo at around 1900hrs. They were expected to arrive in Botswana yesterday morning around 3am, leaving them with one full day of training, although veteran skipper Murape Murape believes that will not affect them.
“We will overcome fatigue because we have two days to recover,” Murape said shortly before the team’s departure on Thursday morning.
“It’s not ideal to travel by road for such a long journey but we don’t want excuses. We will have two days to recover. We will have time to familiarize ourselves with the match venue. We are aware Mochudi Centre Chiefs will be playing at home and will be seeking to reverse things.
“We need to attack and defend as a team and avoid being complacent. We all saw they are not a bad team. They can cause an upset especially when they are playing at home. We want to avoid the situation we found ourselves in the last time we went there. Remember we lost 1-0 to Gaborone United in Botswana after we had led 4-1 in the first leg at home.”
Dynamos will also be keeping a close eye on events between Democratic Republic of Congo flag-bearers AS Vita and Nigeria’s Kano Pillars.
Vita leads 3-1 lead but have been warned their first leg win will not be enough. The clubs clash in northern Nigeria with the home team lacking striker Bello Kofarmata, who got a first-leg red card.
But fellow forward Abdul Haruna believes 2009 Champions League semi-finalists Pillars will come good at the Sani Abacha Stadium in Kano. “Nobody must count Pillars out,” he stressed. “A 2-0 win will take us through but we will score even more goals and our aim is to reach the group stage.”
Pasuwa’s away record
March 15 2012-InterClube (Angola) 1-0 Dynamos March 24 2012-Liga Muculmana (Mozambique) 2-2 Dynamos April 24 2012-Esperance (Tunisia) 6-0 Dynamos March 3 2013-Lesotho Correctional Services (Lesotho) 1-0 Dynamos March 17 2013-CA Birzetin (Tunisia) 3-0 Dynamos
