MWEETWA BACKS POWER DYNAMOS TO OVERTURN AL MERRIKH DEFEAT
Former Zambia striker Nchimunya Mweetwa believes Power Dynamos have what it takes to overturn their 1-0 defeat to Al Merrikh and progress to the next round of the CAF Champions League.
Power Dynamos suffered the narrow defeat in the first leg last Saturday, with Al Merrikh converting from the penalty spot. The Zambian champions will host the Sudanese side in the return leg at Levy Mwanawasa Stadium this Saturday.
Mweetwa says the biggest task for head coach Oswald Mutapa will be to ensure the players recover mentally from the disappointing first-leg result and approach the return fixture with confidence.
“In the friendly games, there should be one or two goals they’ve scored, so it hasn’t been easy on their side. But I believe in the team they’ve assembled,” Mweetwa said.
“They just have to work on their names, especially at home. They have to psych the players. Mutapa is a seasoned coach and I’m not seeing him failing to psych the players and put them in the right frame of mind to beat that team.”
Mweetwa also believes playing the return leg at home gives Power Dynamos a significant opportunity to turn the tie around.
“At their home ground, that team had to beat them through a penalty. It says a lot. It says that Power Dynamos obviously gave them a tough time,” he said.
“At our home ground, I would love to see that game. I hope the boys will come, like we say in football, that they will come to the party.”
Football analyst Enock Phiri also believes Power Dynamos can benefit from their familiarity with Levy Mwanawasa Stadium.
Phiri pointed out that Power played their entire CAF campaign last season at the venue, making it effectively a home ground despite being away from their traditional base.
“I am very confident because they played the entire group stage last season using the same Levy Mwanawasa Stadium. This time around, it has become home to them in as much as it is away from home,” Phiri said.
He, however, identified goalscoring as an area Power must improve, particularly after their limited output during pre-season.
“Looking at how their pre-season was in a four-club tournament, Power Dynamos didn’t score more than two goals. Which means they have to sharpen the combination of Amine Hadia, Fredrik Murambia, Budo,” he said.
Phiri remains confident that Mutapa will find the right formula to produce the required result on Saturday, although he expressed concern over poor attendance at continental matches in Zambia.
“I think the coach by now knows what to do. Obviously, he will deliver the much-needed result at Levy Mwanawasa Stadium,” he said.
