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Veronica Gwaze, Sports Reporter
ESWATINI –BASED Zimbabwean coach Alexio Sigion has a mountain to climb as his Nsingizini Hotspurs attempt to overturn a 0-3 deficit against South African Premiership side, Stellenbosch in the second leg of the CAF Confederation Cup preliminary round.
The two teams will clash in the second leg at Moses Mabhida Stadium today with Sigion hoping to stage a miracle and make it to the next round.
“It will not be an easy task but something, which can be achieved because anything can happen in football and how we got here is not a coincidence,” he said.
He acknowledges that this will be an important fixture for the team that seeks to also transform into a dominant force in Eswathini elite league.
“It may be a CAF Confed match but our experience here will have a huge impact on how we fare back home, in the league.
“We do not want to look much into how the script penned out in the first leg. We picked the positives and built from there as we prepared for this encounter.
“This is a huge stage and for most if not all the players it is their first time here so it is critical for us to focus more on managing the situation.”
Sigion believes that his boys have acclimated to the African Safari and now have an understanding of what their opponents are made of.
This, he believes, will help them prevail, today.
“The first time is always all about learning and trying to figure out how things are done in any environment,” he added.
“From my experiences over the years, my first appearance on the African Safari is largely about learning.
“While we fight to proceed to round two, we are also focused on learning and grasping how things are done here more than anything.
“It is not easy coming here and getting such a score line on your debut, so we needed to prepare physically and mentally coming into the return fixture.”
Part of the arsenal expected to score goals for the time will be former Dynamos Forward, Nyasha Chintuli.
The striker, in the last six months transformed into a stalwart, earning himself a spot as a regular starter on the team.
“This is my second time playing here so I had a rough idea of what to expect but it was not our day,” said Chintuli.
The first time that Chintuli played on the African Safari was in 2019, under Triangle F.C.
Despite failing to reach the group stages then, the striker feels that it is time to dig into his reservoirs and employ the experience for his side.
“It is unfortunate that the first leg did not go as planned and clearly we need to do more tomorrow (today),” he said.
“My hope is to score and help my team make it to the next round; it may sound crazy based on the results of the first leg but certainly doable if we pay well.
“It will not be easy but I know that we have learnt so much already, which will help us tomorrow (today).”
Online Reporter