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VERY hot and dry; few words that sum up the weather conditions in the Lowveld — home to Triangle United — and coach Taurai Mangwiro has a grand plan to use the unfriendly conditions as a trump card against Africa’s finest in the Confederations Cup.
Mangwiro has been there before and is fully aware the Confederations Cup is by no means a walk in the park.
His trump card against visiting teams is the high humidity conditions in the Lowveld.
“Local teams struggle to play in West and North Africa as a result of the weather conditions in those parts of the continent so we must also use the dry and hot conditions here in Triangle to our advantage when playing visiting teams,” said Mangwiro.
Once beaten, twice shy — so goes the adage. Mangwiro was bundled out of the Confederations Cup in the first round when he was the Harare City coach in 2016.
He is hoping to do better this time around with the “Sugar Boys”.
“I had a chance to lead Harare City in the continental competition but unfortunately we could not clear the first huddle; we lost in the preliminary stages. It’s different now (with Triangle United) as we have ample time between now and when the competition starts to assemble a formidable team and hope that we will be able to make an impression,” he said.
Tongaat Hulett, the club sponsors, have pledged to bankroll the team’s African adventure.
“The team represented the Tongaat Hulett brand very well and as a regional company, we want to provide our players a chance to play continental football. A majority of the players are from the Lowveld and it will give our community a sense of pride when the team hosts African teams here at Gibbo,” said club president Adelaide Chikunguru.
Triangle United bagged the ticket to represent the country in the African Confederations Cup after beating Harare City 2-0 at Gibbo Stadium.
Gibbo Stadium is subject to inspections by Caf officials to be certified to host continental cup games.
Online Reporter