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PLATINUM STARS . . . Ngezi Platinum vice-chairman Silence Gavi (right) speaks to the media in Harare yesterday in the company of club coach Tonderai Ndiraya (centre) and captain Partson Jaure

Paul Mundandi Sport Reporter
NGEZI Platinum coach Tonderayi Ndiraya is confident his team will come out with a positive result when they host Recreativo do Libolo of Angola at the National Sports Stadium this afternoon in the CAF Confederation Cup second leg match.

The match kicks off at 2pm.

The Zimbabweans trail their opponents 1-2.

Having been denied what they believed was a genuine goal in their first meeting in Luanda last weekend, Ngezi are focused and want nothing short of victory in today’s match.

A Donald Teguru strike was ruled off-side by Zambian referee Wellington Kaoma who was also accused of making a number of questionable decisions.

“We can’t do anything about last weekend’s result, but we want to assure the nation that we are focused and all we can do is control what will be happening on the pitch tomorrow (today).

“We were disturbed with the disallowed goal, but we have moved on. We want a result tomorrow (today) since the Angolans have the advantage in their hands.

“We are going to attack and we will not approach the match with a defensive mind. I am fielding offensive players. A 1-0 or 3-1 victory will suit us very well, but a 2-1 victory will see us going for the penalties.

“My players have a lot of enthusiasm, they have the energy and the hope of flying the national flag high. It might be a sad scenario that we are playing away from Mhondoro, but Zimbabwe is our home and we are comfortable.

“I am urging fans to rally behind us because we are in this together, We will not fail the nation and we do not want to disappoint Ngezi Platinum fans,” said Ndiraya,

His newly-appointed captain Partson “Yellow” Jaure, the most experienced player in the Ngezi outfit, was also very confident at the press briefing yesterday.

“We need a victory, I have been at Dynamos, the national team and even played in South Africa. We are ready for the encounter and all we need is a positive result, we are prepared.

“They might have pace, they might be organised, but for the past days we have been working so hard and everyone is raring to go, everyone is proud to be representing the country in this tournament,” said Jaure.

The Angolans thrive on set-pieces and this was shown when they scored a free-kick and from a corner kick in last weekend’s match.

It is something that Ndiraya’s men were working on at the National Sports Stadium on Thursday afternoon.

Ngezi need to avoid making mistakes and they will miss Byron Madzokere while Kevin Bulaji, who missed the first leg, will be back in action.

Liberty Chakoroma was on target in the preliminary against Pamplemousses of Mauritius and also scored in Angola.

The winners of this round will advance to the play-offs where they will be joined by the 16 losers of the Champions League first round ties.

The Zimbabwe representatives are favourites to go through despite being newcomers in the tournament.

Club Recreativo do Libolo might have reached the CAF Champions group stage in 2013, but Ndiraya has proved that he is maturing with age and can read the game very well.

Water Mukanga, Dominic Mukandi, Godknows Murwira, Washington Pakamisa and Qadr Amin are some of the experienced players who are expected to steer the team to victory this afternoon.

Ngezi have been appealing for support from the Harare football community.