…Zesco in must-win clash after losing away to Leopards
By MICHAEL MIYOBA
ZAMBIAN Champions, Zesco United’s quest to progress to the next round of the CAF Champions League faces another test today when they host Royal Leopards of eSwatini in a must-win preliminary round second leg fixture at Levy Mwanawasa Stadium in Ndola.
After recording a disappointing 1-0 defeat in Manzini due to Solomon Sakala’s own goal, the Ndola giants will fight for a win to avoid being relegated to the less glamourous CAF Confederations Cup.
For Zesco coach Numba Mumamba, today’s game presents the Zambian champions a chance to redeem themselves from a failed mission in Manzini.
“We have done our homework, we have worked on our finishing because that was the biggest area of concern and we are hoping that we do much better in front of goal so that we can qualify to the next stage of the competition,” Numba said during yesterday’s pre-match press briefing at Levy Mwanawasa Stadium.
Numba expects a frustrating game from Leopards who he expects to play a defensive game to protect their one-goal advantage.
And Kenyan international Jesse Were is confident that the Ndola giants will bounce back from last weeks defeat in Manzini.
“We have been working hard and everyone in the team is looking forward to this encounter. We all know what is expected of each one of us. We will do our best to ensure that we win.”
Meanwhile, Leopards coach Edwin Matsebule said his team had planned for the Zambian champions and would fight until the end.
“Zesco gave us a hard time at home so we are expecting them to do more than what they did in Eswatini but we have planned for them. We won’t sit back and allow them to come at us. We will fight till the end,” Matsebule said.
Menawhile, Zanaco will be hopping to finish off Akunangui FC of Equatorial Guinea when the two sides face off in today’s CAF Champions League preliminary return leg fixture at National Heroes Stadium in Lusaka.
The bankers are holding a 2-1 advantage having beaten Akunangui FC in the first leg played at Ebebiyin Stadium last weekend.
And despite Zanaco being the favourites, Coach Kelvin Kaindu said his team will not underrate Akunangui FC.
Kaindu noted that it is possible for Akunangui to win away from home after the bankers collected maximum points in Equatorial Guinea.
A win for Zanaco will propel them to the next preliminary round.
