ZESCO United FC defender Lindo Mkhonta says playing Dynamos Football Club of Zimbabwe in the first preliminary round of the CAF Confederation Cup at the National Stadium in Gaborone, Botswana, is an added advantage for the Ndola side.
Zimbabwean sides have been forced to play outside of the country due to the unavailability of a CAF-approved stadium.
Champions Ngezi Platinum Stars have settled for National Heroes Stadium in Lusaka, while Dynamos will play in Botswana.
Speaking ahead of this Sunday’s fixture, Mkhonta says playing at a neutral venue makes the tie a 50-50 affair, as there will be no home advantage for Dynamos.
He has, however, warned against under-rating Dynamos when the two sides face off because their league is active while ZESCO United is coming off-season.
“Playing in Botswana is also giving us an advantage because you know that it is not easy playing a home game away from home; it’s like everyone will be away. So it is giving us a big advantage,” Mkhonta said. “We know that for us to get to the next stage, we have to win this match. We have told ourselves not to underrate them, as we know their league is still on, and we are coming from off season.”
International experience to help Zesco – Mkhota
Mkhonta adds that there is enough international experience in the squad to navigate through the upcoming challenge against the Glamour Boys.
“I will use my experience that I got from the national team; I was recently playing in the World Cup qualifiers, so I think I have learnt a lot from the games, so that is what we will use,” he said.
The Eswatini international defender stated that Zesco United wants to keep a clean sheet in Sunday’s match.
“As defenders, we are not happy when we concede goals, but all in all, as a team, we don’t want to concede any goal. We don’t want to concede any goal in this CAF game,” he added.
Mkhonta has also disclosed that Zega Mambo is aiming to clinch the league title from Red Arrows but has their focus on Sunday’s CAF Confederation Cup match against Dynamos.
