Norman Mapeza, the FC Platinum (FCP) coach, says they will try to maximise on home advantage when the Zimbabwean champions host Senegalese side ASC Jaaraf in the CAF Confederation Cup first-leg play-offs at the National Sports Stadium on Sunday.
FCP crashed out of the CAF Champions League after losing 4-1 on aggregate to Tanzania’s Simba SC despite winning 1-0 at home.
Speaking to Chronicle Sport, Mapeza said they learn t a cruel lesson against the East Africans and they will have to score as many goals at home against the Senegalese if they are to progress further in the competition. He said:
We know the challenges we are going to face on Sunday, but the message has been the same; we need to maximise on home advantage.
We need goals, this tournament is all about goals and we really need to score as many goals as we can.
You never know what might happen when we go to Senegal. We learnt a cruel lesson against Simba SC.
We saw what happened, but it’s now water under the bridge. Sunday, as I said, is all about goals.
The return leg is set for 21 February in Dakar, Senegal, with the winner proceeding to the mini-league stage whose matches will be played from 10 March to 28 April.