Red Arrows coach Chisi Mbewe is confident his side will finally reach the group stage of the CAF Confederation Cup for the first time after beating South Africa’s Kaizer Chiefs 1-0 at Levy Mwanawasa Stadium in Ndola on Saturday.
Mbewe told a post-match press conference that the tie is now in their hands and assured supporters that they would advance to the group stage.
“We are very confident. This is a competition; we shouldn’t give it away. I think we’re in this competition to compete, and I think even coming into this game, we had planned. The goals that we actually wanted to score in this game were 3 goals. That’s what was our target, and I think you could even see the chances that we created.
“Again, it’s in our hands. It’s up to us to lose it or to win it. So we go there, we fight, and we ensure that we qualify for the group stage.”
Mbewe bemoans missed chances
Red Arrows dominated the match from start to finish, creating multiple chances but managing to convert only one. Allasane Diarra headed home the winner in the 76th minute from a corner.
Mbewe said he would work on his team’s finishing but, responding to a question from this reporter about his side’s chances of advancing to the group stage on a scale of 1 to 10, rated them at eight out of 10 ahead of the return leg against Kaizer Chiefs.
“I can assure you that this time around, Red Arrows is qualifying for the group stage,” he confidently said. “On a scale of 1 to 10? I would say 8 out of 10.”
“We’re only maybe disappointed on the part where we created a lot of chances but only managed to convert, one goal.”
Ahead of next Friday’s return leg in South Africa, Mbewe hopes Chiefs will play a more open game to give his team opportunities to score more goals.
“I think if you saw the way Kaizer Chiefs came, they were a bit cautious in this game. So we hope that when we go to South Africa, they open it up. So the most important thing is to get back into training and ensure that we improve on our finishing, of course. I think when they open it up, it will even give us a chance to score in South Africa.”
