adminOver the past week, there has been uncertainty on the venue of the match and on Monday the club finally acceded to Caf pressure and agreed to take the game to either Rufaro Stadium in Harare or Barbourfields Stadium in Bulawayo.
Caf appeared to concur with the match commissioner of the Green Mamba game that Mandava was inaccessible despite FC Platinum being prepared to fly their opponents from Harare to Zvishavane via Masvingo.
“I am not worried about El Merreikh. My players are not under pressure at all and I will never put them under pressure. We are in the competition to compete and every team has a chance of proceeding to the next round.
“I have seen the way they play when they played Highlanders and I also watched their players in action at the Afcon finals but I am not looking at them. Instead my focus is on my team and it is not a very special game as we will play just like any other match.
“I have heard that they have been sending spies and I am not worried. It only shows that we are a special team with a good brand, no wonder why they are worried. It’s probably because of the way we won our match against Green Mamba on 8-2 aggregate, a result I believe sent shockwaves to them. They got scared and are now taking us seriously because we are a good side than what people thought,” boasted the championship-winning coach.
“Playing in the Champions League is not easy as it is a big league. You have to be good to play there and our being there means we are very good. The two teams representing Zimbabwe are good and deserve to be playing in the Champions League,” said Gumbo.
“El Merreikh has eight players who are in the Sudanese national team and an expatriate Jonas Sakuwaha who won the 2012 Afcon title with Chipolopolo.”
The team is known as the Red Devils and has won the Sudanese title 18 times, including last season, and has reached the mini league stage of the Champions League, finishing fourth in the group which had Zesco United, Kano Pillars and Al Hilal.
“I am not worried that the Sudanese team has eight players in the national team in Sudan including the Zambian. If that is the case then we have 14 players in the national team,” said Gumbo.
“I do not have individual players in my team but we play as a team and I have a few injury worries as Katsvairo (Mitchelle), Cabby (Kamhapa) and Allen (Gahadzikwa) have injuries but they are not major ones. I am happy that Nenzou (Rowan) has finished his personal problems and is back in training. Donald (Dombo) is still out but the team that I have is prepared for the battle.”
FC Platinum will bank on the experience of Daniel Vheremu, Tafadzwa Dube, Gahadzikwa, Gilbert Banda, Nenzou, Joel Ngodzo and his brother Zephaniah who is the team captain. Players in the mould of Qadr Amin, Katsvairo, Louis Matawu, Ali Sadiki and Charles Sibanda are expected to give the visitors a rude awakening come Saturday.
FC Platinum made a positive start in their maiden appearance, clinching a comprehensive 4-2 victory away from home before sending the visitors to the cleaners with a 4-0 victory with all the goals coming in the first half.
Online Reporter