Royal AM say TP Mazembe parked proverbial buses and trucks in the CAF Confederation Cup second round, second leg match on Wednesday in Durban.
Royal AM general manager Richard Makhoba said the Congolese side was lucky to win the match 1-0 at Moses Mabhida Stadium.
The Congolese side progressed via a 3-0 aggregate score-line following a home 2-0 victory.
Makhoba slammed the former African champions for deploying old-fashioned defensive tactics to get over the line.
FOUR BUSES AND THREE TRUCKS
“Mazembe came with four buses and three trucks and parked them in front of their goalkeeper,” he told FARPost.
“We moved the trucks and had to deal with the four buses. When we moved the four buses, one truck also came back.”
He added: “So, it was a night of moving trucks and buses, but when we played ZESCO, they played an open game home and away. No defending.”
He said this about the previous matches that Royal AM played against the Zambians in the first round.
Mazembe have since claimed they are stranded in Durban because their six players’ passports went missing.
Mazembe accused Royal AM supporters of beating up their Congolese counterparts in the terraces and that passports and other items went missing from the locker rooms.
Adam Bossu scored the lone goal of the game in the first half for Mazembe.
OFF-FIELD INCIDENTS
The Lubumbashi-based team said off-the-field incidents marred their qualification for the competition’s group stages.
“…there were serious issues in the stands as our supporters were assaulted by well-identified officials and in the locker rooms, passports, mobile phones and other personal effects vanished,” Mazembe website reads.
Makhoba confirmed to FARPost that he was aware of the visitors’ complaint. Makhoba said he had asked stadium management and the police to establish the merit of Mazembe’s claims.
He suspected that Mazembe could be blowing things up to attract attention.
Royal AM said they were harassed in the first leg match played in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The Durban-based team were making their maiden appearance in the continental competition after finishing third last season in the DStv Premiership.
Royal AM had a dream start to the Confederation Cup campaign after eliminating Mbabane Highlanders and ZESCO.
