31 May 2011
ZESCO Limited have told their football club to negotiate their way to the 2011 Orange CAF Confederation Cup group stage after bungling an opportunity on home turf at Trade Fair ground in Ndola.
After watching Zesco United secure a slender 1-0 home advantage over Moroccan side, Maghreb Association Sportive (MAS) in Sunday’s first leg match they could have comprehensively won, the sponsors said they would not accept failure in next weekend’s return fixture.
The Orange CAF Champions League drop-outs were told to use whatever resources was at their disposal to ensure they sailed through to the mini-league series.
Company senior manager industrial relations, Salim Banda said the corporate management expected nothing short of a group stage berth for the Zambian envoys.
Banda said after missing several scoring chances in the first leg to virtually kill off the return leg, no amount of intimidation or hostility in the North African nation should scupper the Zambian champions’ aim for a place in the group phase.
He said Zesco United needed to concentrate and do the country proud by ejecting MAS from Africa’s second club tier competition, following their elimination from the Champions League by Egyptian giants, Al Ahly.
Banda said after losing because of the hostile environment at Cairo National Stadium, the team needed to take lessons from that experience ahead of the MAS fixture.
“We need to concentrate and win in Fez (Moroccan City). No amount of intimidation should affect the team’s concentration. Hostilities in Fez may be twice than what the team experienced in Cairo. Firecrackers and stones must not intimidate the team – the game must be won,” he said.
Banda advised coach Fighton Simukonda to work more on the team’s psychological warfare than tactics since Zesco had already proven to be a good side.
He, however, congratulated the team for winning the round of 16 first leg match and urged them to maximise scoring chances that come their way.
Zambia national team coach, Dario Bonetti, who watched the match at Trade Fair Ground with his squad, said Zesco were capable of upstaging the Moroccans in Fez, as they had quality and were more organised than MAS.
Zesco chairperson, Kenneth Muteto said it was his executive’s belief that the team still stood a better chance of qualifying but advised the players to be taking all their scoring opportunities.
Muteto said Zesco could have “buried” the Moroccans at Trade Fair had the players utilised a myriad of scoring chances they crafted.
Club secretary, Justin Mumba said pressure was now on MAS, whom he said despite having a strong home record were expected to play a more open game.
Mumba, however, said Zesco would be travelling to Fez without international defender, Nyambe Mulenga, who will be suspended for the fixture after accumulating two yellow cards.
Coach Simukonda said after seeing how MAS played, Zesco needed to do some adjustments ahead of the return leg and still believed his charges would extinguish Rachid Taoussi’s team.
A 62nd minute headed goal by Derrick Kabwe settled the first leg in Ndola. Zesco will face MAS next Friday in the return leg.
In the second round, MAS beat El Khartoum, of Sudan, on 5-3 aggregate score after winning 5-1 in Fes in the first leg before going on to lose the return fixture 0-2 in Khartoum.
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