Advantage FC Platinum

FC Platinum boosted their chances of returning to the CAF Champions league group stages by taking a 1- 0 first round, first leg lead against Simba SC of Tanzania at the National Sports Stadium yesterday.

The Zimbabwe champions dominated the match and should have taken a two-goal lead into the second leg but missed one glorious chance in the second half.

But for a team that is barely active on the domestic scene to dominate the Tanzanian champions whose national league is in full swing was a big boost for FC Platinum coach, Norman Mapeza.

Perfect Chikwende settled the match with a brilliant solo goal in the first half, which leaves FC Platinum needing to avoid defeat or lose by a goal while scoring to reach the mini-league phase.

Coach Norman Mapeza says they are happy with the win but feels they could have scored more.

“We are happy. You know the guys worked so hard. What we wanted was a win.

“We could have won by two or more goals.

“But at the end of the day l can’t complain much but l think the guys worked so hard,” he said.

Substitute Ralph Kawondera, who came in for Stanley Ngala in the second half, did not really come to the party since he passed a late fitness test after he had a knock in the friendly game against Eagles.

“Sometimes football players need to be honest. If he was feeling pain, he should have told us but the moment you go for training and the doctors ask if you are okay or not, you tell them you are feeling well, what do you want the doctors to do?

“So I think footballers need to be honest with us coaches because if you miss one game or if you play one game then what’s going to happen if an injury occurs then you miss four or five games.

“They just need to be honest with us,” he said. FC Platinum are set to play the second leg in Tanzania in two weeks and Mapeza says they are doing their homework.

“We are doing our homework we know how they’re going to play and we are going to do the same thing. “We are not going to change the way we play to them,” he said.