Ngezi sail through

Langton Nyakwenda
Ngezi Platinum . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Pamplemousses . . . . . . . . . . . .0
(Ngezi win 2-1 on aggregate)
NGEZI Platinum Stars’ fairytale continued yesterday when the debutants booked a place in the CAF Confederations Cup first round after dispatching visiting Pamplemousses of Mauritius at the National Sports Stadium in Harare. A solitary strike by livewire forward Terrence Dzvukamanja in the 19th minute carried the day for the Mhondoro miners who will face Recreativo do Libolo of Angola in the next round.
After holding the Mauritians 1-1 away in Port Louis last Sunday, Madamburo were quick out of the blocks in search of an early goal.
Tonderai Ndiraya’s men fluffed several chances but hung on for a memorable victory which was witnessed by a sizeable number of fans, most of whom came from the team’s base in Mhondoro.
But they got the one they needed through Dzvukamanja who collected a Godknows Murwira cross from the right, turned his marker and fired into the top corner.
Dribbling wizard Donald Teguru should have doubled the lead in the 56th minute but he missed a rebound from close range after Pamplemousses goalkeeper Jean Louis Kevin had punched back Qadr Amini’s ferocious strike.
Ngezi Platinum coach Ndiraya had earlier been forced into making a change when striker Kenneth Bulaji suffered an injury in the 38th minute.
The former Caps United and Dynamos forward was replaced by MacClive Phiri, who joined Ngezi from Tsholotsho.
Pamplemousses will, however, feel hard done by Malawian referee Ishmael Chizinga who dismissed the visitors’ penalty appeals when Mukandi appeared to have handled the ball in the 22nd minute.
And their coach Tony Francois recalled the incident in his post-match remarks.
“Yeah, I thought it was a penalty because the player clearly handled the ball but that happens in football. However, that should not take away the fact that Ngezi are a good side. They have athletic players, very physical and skillful too,” he said.
At the final whislte, Ndiraya did not want to dwell much on the missed chances as he felt his boys deserved credit for creating those opportunities.
“The good thing is that we created the chances and in a game of football you have to create for you to score,” said Ndiraya.
The tactically astute Ndiraya used his favoured 3-4-3 formation with Partson Jaure, Dominic Mukandi and Byron Madzokere playing at centre back, and the trio had feww problems snuffing out any threat posed by the visitors.
Ndiraya will now start planning for the first round clash against Libolo next month and the former Dynamos gaffer is wary of the Angolans.
“Angola is a respected football nation so it will not be easy at all,” he said.
Teams
Ngezi Platinum Stars: Chadya, Jaure, Madzokere, Mukandi, Moyo, Chakoroma (Mhungu), Amini, Murwira, Teguru (Mabvura), Dzvukamanja, Bulaji (Phiri)
Pamplemousses: Kevin, Martin, Seraphin, Jeff, Agath, Collin (Jocelin), Holas, Perticots (Fabrice), Saramautif, Raza, Zizi