BY FORTUNE MBELE
FORMER FC Platinum captain Thabani Kamusoko has warned his former club that they face a brutal battle against a physical Horoya side when the teams clash in the Group B Confederation of African Football (Caf) Champions League tie at Barbourfields Stadium in Bulawayo tomorrow.
Speaking from his base in Tanzania where he now plies his trade for the East African football giants Young Africans, Kamusoko, however, said FC Platinum had a good chance of winning the match.
Kamusoko said he has been following the Zvishavane-based side’s campaign in this year’s Caf Champions League and he believes they have what it takes to take on any African giant in the competition.
“FC Platinum should stick to their type of game and play their own game against Horoya so that they can contain Horoya. Horoya is desperate for a win and so is FC Platinum. If FC Platinum play their normal type of game, they give themselves a good chance of winning,” he said.
He said home advantage should play a big role for FC Platinum against the West Africans who play a physical game.
“I have never played against Horoya, but one thing I know for certain is that West Africans will pose a threat as they thrive on a physical type of game and this Horoya side has got a lot of experienced players. FC Platinum’s chances of winning on Saturday (tomorrow) are very high, considering they are playing at home and they can take advantage of that.”
Both sides have a point apiece from the two games they have played so far, while Orlando Pirates and Esperance have collected four points so far.
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For FC Platinum and Horoya it’s a must win tomorrow if they are to remain in contest for the quarter-finals.
FC Platinum have not scored a single goal in their two matches in the group stages, an area that coach Norman Mapeza and his charges have to work on ahead of the game tomorrow.
Their new acquisition, Edmore Chirambadare, is still ineligible so they will be looking up to the experience of striker Mkhokeli Dube.
In their first two matches, Horoya played out a draw against Esperance before they were hammered 3-0 by Orlando Pirates in South Africa.
In their match against Orlando Pirates at Barbourfields, FC Platinum put up a commendable show in front of a capacity crowd, but they could not get a win as the two teams fired blanks.
They will be looking to make their possession-based play count this time on.
Algerian match officials will handle the crunch tie, with Mustapha Ghorbal in the centre and assisted by Abdelhah Etchiali and Mokrame Gourari.
The fourth official will be Boukhalfa Nabil, also from the North African country, while Zambian national Patrick Kangwa is the match commissioner and Jerome Damon from South Africa the referees’ assessor.
