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Eddie Chikamhi Senior Sports Reporter

NORMAN Mapeza knows he will be under the spotlight today when FC Platinum host GD Sagrada Esperanca in a CAF Champions League battle in the capital.

His decision to accept the role to lead the Warriors on a caretaker basis yet again, means he is now a coach under severe scrutiny.

Mapeza agreed a short-term three-month deal with ZIFA to lead the Warriors in their remaining four 2022 World Cup qualifiers.

This followed the overdue axing of the hapless Zdravko Logarusic.

It means Mapeza now has the focus of the entire nation on him and even results at club level will now be a source of a national debate.

Yesterday, he said his platinum miners will be cautious in defence to try and avoid conceding at home in their tricky preliminary round fixture against their Angolan opponents.

The two clubs meet at the National Sports Stadium this afternoon and the match will be broadcast live on ZTV.

Mapeza told reporters via a virtual Press conference yesterday they were aware of the disadvantage of the away goals’ rule following a barren first leg in Luanda, last week.

“We have been talking about that because we know what it means for them to score an away goal,’’ he said.

“So, it’s for us to try by all means not concede at home.

“I know anything can happen in football but if we are to play a 1-1- or 2-2 draw, it means we are out of the tournament.

“The message has been very clear to everyone this week, so, we need to give our all and win this match at all cost.”

Unlike their opponents who are still fresh from winning the Angola Girabola, the hosts have not played competitive football regularly in a while.

There were worries about the state of their match fitness after they had under a month to prepare for the tie.

But, Mapeza was encouraged his charges managed to last the distance against Sagrada.

The three-time Zimbabwe champions defended for their lives, playing with 10-men for the remainder of the game after their left-back Kelvin Mangiza was sent off for a second bookable offence.

Mapeza said it was important his players have the right mentality, at this level.

“I think we are mentally and physically up for it. If we can go away and manage to get a draw, especially after a long period of not playing competitive football, it shows the guys are mentally prepared,’’ he said.

“It’s for us to push the extra mile at home.

“We need to go out there, with a positive mindset, and if we can do that, I think, we can get the positive result that we want.”

FC Platinum are expected to go into the match motivated by playing in familiar surroundings.

They are likely to welcome back Donald Teguru and Kelvin Madzongwe who missed the first leg.

Mapeza was satisfied with the way his side have gone about their preparations in the capital this week.

“We have no complaints, in terms of our preparations except, of course, that we had two guys that picked up some knocks.

“We had that red card setback in Angola but if you look at it in another way, he (Mangiza) is just a young player and, sometimes, in life you have to learn your lessons the hard way.

“So, he is definitely out and, as coaches, we had to sit down to look for his replacement.

“We have plan B in place and we remain positive.’’

Mapeza earlier this week said he has been working on sharpening the final third of his team, which he hopes would bring him the goals, they desperately need today.

“I think defensively we looked really organised. Even our midfield looked very solid,’’ he said.

“I think my biggest worry was upfront, there wasn’t much activity in terms of chances created.’’

Sagrada were expected in Harare late yesterday afternoon.

Their coach, Roque Sapiri, sent a clear message the contest was still far from over, when he spoke to journalists in Angola.

“We are not in the best position going into the second leg but it is not too bad either,’’ he said.

“I am happy that we kept a clean sheet even though scoring a goal would have been ideal.

“We have no choice but to go out and look for a goal or two in Zimbabwe for us to proceed further in the competition, but so do they.

“This will work well for both teams as we will go at each other and play openly.”

Sapiri revealed he had done his homework on FC Platinum.

“They (FC Platinum) are a quality side with a very good coach. They are well organised and not easily breakable.

“They can hurt you on the counter and now that we are going to their home ground, they will be more open to attacking us,” he said.