Royal AM’s CAF Confederation Cup opponents Zesco United will just dwell on the positives from Tuesday’s friendly loss to DR Congo giants TP Mazembe.
Zesco warmed up for their date against Royal AM on October 8 with a 1-0 home loss to the five-time African champions in an international club friendly played at Levy Mwanawasa Stadium in Ndola.
Coach Mumamba Numba said Zesco’s performance and not the loss to Mazembe gave them some confidence as they enter the CAF Confederation Cup after enjoying a preliminary stage bye.
NUMBA’s WORDS
“It was an exciting and interesting training game against TP Mazembe. An evenly contested match and we are happy with the performance of the team,” Numba said.
It took until the 55th minute for the deadlock to be broken when Mazembe midfielder Glody Likonza Likonza fired in a long-range effort.
Meanwhile, eight of Zesco’s starters against Mazembe have so far seen little or no action in the Ndola clubs opening five league games of the season.
Ex-Orlando Pirates striker Austin Muwowo was one of the rare starters before making way at the start of the second half.
“We are looking better and better in each and every game that we are playing this season. This is a good sign on our part as we are preparing for the league and CAF game that we have on the 8th of October,” Numba said.
Zesco will visit Royal AM in a fortnight at Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban.
The final leg is set for October 15 at Levy Stadium.
Zesco is now Zambia’s only club still in contention in this season’s CAF inter-club competition.
Red Arrows have just made a preliminary round exit from the CAF Champions League where Primeiro de Agosto of Angola eliminated them 2-1 on aggregate following a 1-1 final leg draw on September 18 away in Luanda.
