The Sunday Mail
Sikhumbuzo Moyo in Khartoum, Sudan
FC Platinum coach Lizwe Sweswe believes that if his boys had been more clinical, they could have defended better against Sudanese champions Al Hilal in the Total Caf Champions League match played at Al Hilal Stadium on Friday night.
This would have enhanced their chances of coming out with at least a point.
The Zimbabwe champions fell 1-2 in a game they could have produced one of the biggest upsets in African football by stunning the heavily financed Sudanese outfit.
However, a brace by Mohamed Musa Elder, who scored in each half, all after poor denfensive approach by the visitors, was enough to give the hosts maximum points despite a late top drawer free kick by Never Tigere after second half substitute Guyve Nsiala was hacked down.
The hosts went into the lead 26th minutes into the match, when Elder ghosted from behind William Stima to beat a diving Francis Tizayi in a goal for the Zimbabwean champions. The second goal was also a result of an error, this time from Lawrence Mhlanga who failed to clear a rebound after the ball had hit the upright post. “We could have done better, especially in terms of our defending. We should have defended better than that. These are big games and if you give such teams a chance, they will utilise it, no doubt about that. They were given the chances for those two goals. With the quality of players we have, we ought to have done much better, “ said Sweswe in his post match analysis.
Despite the two ‘silly’ goals that Pure Platinum Play conceded, the story could still have been different had they buried the chances that came through, especially a first half headed miss by Tawana Chikore following FC Platinum’s sleek move.
Instead, Chikore headed his effort over the bar, with the goalkeeper completely beaten.
FC Platinum had done well to weather a torrent of attacks from the hosts, who literally camped in the final third inside the first 15 minutes as they searched for an early goal.
The three-men defence of outstanding Gift Bello, Mhlanga and Stima, ably supported by holding midfielder Kelvin Madzongwe, guarded their territory with applomb. “We knew they will come at us in those opening minutes and when we had weathered that storm, we then began to take the game to them. It all looked like it was going according to plan until that catastrophic blunder when we failed to see Elder ghosting in from behind.
“However, I feel we should have converted the chances that came our way. We ought to have converted at least two goals.
“But what’s done is done, we will work on those shortcoming as we prepare for the next match,” said Sweswe.
With the way they performed on Friday, Pure Platinum Play believe that this time around they will do far much better than their last Champions League Group stage appearance, where they failed to win even a single match. “We just need to be focused. I am sure we will get it right this time around,” said Sweswe. Meanwhile, Skipper Yacine Chikhaoui scored five minutes into the second half to hand Sousse “Diables Rouges” an important victory over Al Ahly who played almost 80 minutes with ten men.
This was after seeing defender Ayman Ashraf given his marching orders after just 13 minutes. Ashraf was judged as being the last man when he fouled Anis Saltou and was shown a straight red card.
The early expulsion affected the visitors approach as they were obliged to substitute veteran midfielder Walid Soliman with defender Mohamed Hany.
After a barren first half, Chikhaoui broke the deadlock for the hosts five minutes after the break. The veteran forward controlled the ball well inside the area before scoring past Mohamed Elshennawy in what proved to be the game’s lone goal.
Ahly dealt with another blow with influential left back Ali Maaloul grabbing a thigh injury, as Etoile managed to withstand Ahly’s numerous attacks as they tried to get an equalizer. Ahly will entertain Sudan’s Al Hilal next Friday in Cairo, while Etoile travels to Harare to face Zimbabwe’s Platinum.
Al Hilal emerged 2-1 victorious in a simultaneous kickoff in Omdurman.
