Kalongonda rallies Young Warriors to use home advantage

Rufaro will boost their chances of advancing to the next stage.
Jairos Tapera’s teenage Warriors could also take a cue from Premiership champions Dynamos who learnt the hard away about failing to maximise on home advantage.
DeMbare faced InterClube of Angola at home first in their Confederation Cup third round fixture but the battle at Rufaro could only yield a 0-0 draw.
Despite putting up a battling performance in the second leg in Luanda, Dynamos fell 1-0 and were left to rue their failure to post a comfortable lead at home.
Tomorrow, Tapera will have to preach the need to ensure they emerge from Rufaro victorious as the reverse fixture in Angola could prove tough.
However, a bullish Kalongonda believes the newly assembled squad is capable of beating anyone and is confident Angola will return to Luanda empty handed.
Kalongonda also wants the Young Warriors to repeat their first round feat when they thumped Botswana 5-1 in the first leg at Barbourfields and had sealed their progress by the time the reverse tie finished 1-1 in Molepolele.
“It’s not going to be an easy game. It will be tough but l believe we have prepared enough to face them and overcome the challenge.
“We are going all out to attack so that we can win by a bigger margin. If we score three or four goals at home it will make life easier for us just like what we did against Botswana.
“There is nothing superior about Angola, we respect them as our opponents but l believe we can beat them,” said Kalongonda.
The former DC Academy right back challenged his teammates to retain their confidence and not to read too much into Angola’s profile.
“I urge all the other guys to be confident and implement whatever we have been taught at training.
“Whatever strategy is there we just need to implement it and we have to be disciplined on and off the pitch. We promise to do well and we urge the fans to come in their numbers and rally behind the team as we take aim at Algeria next year.
“We have a pool of capable players who can beat anyone on our day,” said Kalongonda.
Tapera also remained confident of posting a comfortable first leg win.
“We are ready for the challenge. We want to carry a comfortable first leg win and make our life easier in the second leg. The bulk of this class of Young Warriors have the potential to go far and I urge supporters to come and rally behind the lads on Sunday,” Tapera said.
With competition rules allowing for a squad of 23 players in the qualifiers, Tapera will only name his starting team today after their final workout.
Apart from Kalongonda, Tapera can call also bank on Aces Youth Academy forward Walter Musona, Black Mambas goalkeeper Tonderai Mateyaunga, the Bantu Rovers’ trio of twins — Elvis and Kelvin Moyo — Nqobizitha Masuku and Highlanders’ exciting forward Knox Mutizwa.
Tapera is not likely to tamper much with his team and is expected to retain the bulk of the players who did duty against Botswana in the first round.      
Meanwhile, the Angolans are expected to arrive this morning after which they get a feel of the match venue after the Premiership derby clash pitting Dynamos and CAPS United.