NGEZI Platinum Stars coach Tonderai Ndiraya says his charges will not underestimate their opponents, Recreativo do Libolo from Angola, when the two sides clash in a Caf Confederations Cup first round, first leg encounter at the Calulo Municipal Stadium in Cuanza Sul Province, Angola, on Saturday.
BY DANIEL NHAKANISO
The Mhondoro-based Premier Soccer League outfit left the country for Angola yesterday in high spirits and were expected to spend the night in Luanda before connecting to the match venue today to prepare for the crucial tie.
Recreativo do Libolo, who were handed a bye in the preliminary round of the continent’s second biggest club football tournament, will expect to get a good result at home with the second leg coming up at the National Sports Stadium on March 18.
Speaking before the team’s departure for Angola yesterday, Ndiraya, whose charges overcame Mauritian side Pamplemousses to reach this stage, said despite playing away from home, they would also be seeking a positive result.
“The main objective is to go there and win, that’s the reason we train and play. We play to win, but sometimes you’ve got to be realistic and be true to yourselves and in this scenario we are well aware that we are playing a team which is of a different calibre than Pamplemousses SC,” Ndiraya told NewsDaySport in an interview yesterday.
“They [Recreativo do Libolo] are a very good team which played in the Caf Champions League last year and reached the group stages of the competition [in 2013]. Currently they are in second position in the Angolan league, so it shows that they’re a good and experienced side.
“We would be lying to ourselves if we think we can go there and easily dominate them on their home turf, so we are going there to contain their strengths and work as hard as possible to get a positive result and then finish the job when we play at home.”
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Four-time winners of the Angolan top-flight league, which is commonly referred as the Girabola, in 2011, 2012, 2014 and 2015, Recreativo do Libolo qualified for this year’s Caf Confederations Cup after winning the main knockout cup competition in that country, the Taça de Angola.
They are also not new to continental club football having featured in the Caf Champions League three times with their best performance coming as recently as 2013 when they reached the competition’s group stage.
The ambitious side, which is also famously known in Angola for its basketball side, is making its return to the Caf Confederation Cup for the first time since 2009 when they were knocked out at the same stage of the competition. Last year Recreativo were knocked out in the first round of the Caf Champions League after suffering a 2-0 aggregate defeat to Egyptian heavyweights Al Ahly.
Ngezi made the trip north in high spirits after first-choice goalkeeper Nelson Chadya and Partson Jaure, who were both doubtful due to injuries, were certified fit.
The bad news is that striker Kelvin Bulaji and defender Byron Madzokere could not make the travelling party after failing to recover from injuries.
