By Zim Sport Live Writer
Dynamos made a winning return to continental club football after edging Zambian side ZESCO United in a CAF Confederation Cup preliminary round first leg tie at the National Stadium in Gaborone on Sunday.
Playing at a neutral venue in Botswana due to the poor state of stadia in Zimbabwe, Dynamos put on a solid display to secure a hard-fought 1-0 victory in the first leg.
Midfielder Tanaka Shandirwa scored the solitary goal at the half hour mark to give Dynamos the crucial advantage ahead of the return leg in Ndola next week.
Dynamos interim coach Lloyd Chigowe was delighted with the win, but remains cautious ahead of the return match in Zambia on Saturday.
“It’s always gratifying when you get the maximum points. It was a difficult encounter, but credit to the boys for grinding out the much-needed result,” Chigowe said.
“My clarion call to the boys now is not to be fooled by this win and rest on their laurels because one thing for sure is that Zesco will be coming back in full force and them being at home this time around makes the puzzle very difficult for us.”
Mablanyo, as Chigowe is affectionately known in football circles, savoured the Glamour Boys’ return to continental football in over a decade.
“Dynamos is a huge institution; we belong to the big boys league, but be that as it may, we will fight until the end,” he added.
“We have walked on a similar road before reaching the finals of the Champions League, so this is certainly where we belong, and we will fight tooth and nail to ensure that we get the recognition that we deserve in African football.”
Dynamos will be hoping to hold on to their slender advantage in the second leg and progress to the next round where they would face the winning side in the tie between Orapa United from Botswana and Foresters FC from Seychelles in the next round.