NDINAWE SIMPELWE
Ndola
POWER Dynamos midfielders Chifundo Mphasi and Frederick Mulambia have described tomorrow’s CAF Champions League Group A clash against Egyptian side Pyramids as their biggest assignment.
Power head into the decisive fixture buoyed by back-to-back victories that have reignited their hopes of reaching the quarter-finals.
But they face a daunting task of beating reigning champions in front of a vociferous crowd.
Speaking in an interview with the Power media, Mphasi said the recent run of form has injected belief.
He said the team is scoring goals, having struggled to do so in the first three matches in the group stage.
“After winning the two games, we have confidence that we can beat any team now. The positive thing is that we have started scoring and keeping clean sheets even in away games. We are confident that we can win even this Saturday’s game,” Mphasi said.
Power started the group stage with a 3-0 defeat to Moroccan side RS Berkane away, lost 1-0 to Pyramids in Ndola and drew 0-0 with Rivers United of Nigeria at home.
They beat Rivers 1-0 in Uyo and silenced Berkane 2-0 in Ndola.
Pyramids lead the group with 13 points and have already secured a quarter-final berth while second-placed Berkane and Power have seven points apiece, with Rivers bottom on one point.
Power need to beat Pyramids and hope that Rivers overcome Berkane for the former to advance to the quarter-finals.
Mphasi, a Malawian international, said competing in Africa’s elite competition has been a learning curve.
“As a team we have learnt that these are big games, playing at the highest level against African teams. You just have to be ready always,” he said.
Mulambia said the encounter against Pyramids represents the ultimate test of their Champions League campaign.
“It’s the biggest game because we are facing the current champions of Africa and it is at their own ground. As you know, this is a game that will send us to the quarter-finals. Beating Pyramids at home, it will surely be a big thing for us and it will motivate us going forward,” he said.
Mulambia expects Pyramids to protect their reputation by making it tough for Power.
“We always expect tough games. This is the Champions League, the highest level of African football. Pyramids will want to be professional and maintain their good home standards,” he said.
Meanwhile, Zesco United arrived in Egypt in the early hours of yesterday ahead of tomorrow’s Confederation Cup Group D fixture against Al Masry.
The team touched down at Cairo International Airport around 01:00 hours and were driven to New Suez, where the match will be played.
“We are settling well since we arrived. The win we got has motivated us to end the group phase on a high. The games we lost was due to our own mistakes but I am sure the technical bench has worked on them,” Zesco chief executive officer Kelvin Mutafu said in an interview.
Zesco recorded their first win last Sunday when they beat Egyptian side Zamalek 1-0 at Levy Mwanawasa Stadium in Ndola.
Zesco have three points while South African side Kaizer Chiefs are leading with 10 points, followed by Zamalek with eight and Al Masry are third with seven.
Chiefs are away to Zamalek.
