MIDFIELDER Menard Mupera believes How Mine has the capacity to slay Bayelsa United FC of Nigeria when the two sides meet in the second round, first leg of the Caf Confederation Cup at Barbourfields Stadium on Saturday.
THANDIWE MOYO SPORTS CORRESPONDENT
Bayelsa are not new in the competition while How Mine, despite having progressed to the second round against all odds, they are in the debut season in Africa.
“We are going to take the game seriously like any other match. We do not want to put ourselves under pressure. It will be like in the Biblical story of David and Goliath,” he said implying that they could be giant slayers on Saturday.
Mupera said they had done their research on the team and that they were going to give them a tough match.
“I heard that they are number three in their league and that most of their players are big in their country. However, we are going to give them a tough match,” he said.
How Mine have had the advantage of playing all first leg matches in the competition at home. They have used that to score more goals at home to secure a comfortable lead when they go into the second leg of matches.
So far How Mine have scored 12 goals with six coming from the competition’s leading scorer Kuda Musharu.
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Mupera said all the players in the How Mine side were ready to take on the Nigerian side.
“Morale in the camp is high. Everyone is eager to qualify for the group stages and this will make us work hard as we have been doing in the previous matches,” he said.
In the preliminary round, How Mine beat Chuoni FC of Zanzibar 4-0 and 2-1 in the reverse fixture and went on to secure a berth in the next round with a 6-4 aggregate win over St Michel FC of the Seychelles.
“When we played in the Seychelles, the weather played a huge part in our loss. It was too hot. We, however, have to learn to adjust to the different type of weather in each country,” Mupera said.
Mupera who is part of the How Mine midfield, will hope to control the engine room with the help of Warren Dube, Xolisani Moyo, Edmore Muzanenhamo, Timothy January and Thembani Masuku while Musharu will be hoping to increase his goal tally upfront.
How Mine coach Philani “Beefy” Ncube has said they were hoping to make history and reach the group stages of the competition.
By yesterday, the travel itinerary of the West Africans had not been confirmed.
