Royal AM co-coach Abram Nteo says they could have stolen it at the end in their goalless draw against ZESCO United in the first leg of the CAF Confederation Cup at the Moses Mabhida Stadium on Sunday.
Nteo’s side, who were on the back foot in the first half, could have won in the last 10 minutes.
First Sedwyn George, with the goal post in front of him, shot straight at the ZESCO keeper Ian Otieno., then impressive midfielder Kabelo Mahlasela beat a lot of ZESCO players with a brilliant run, but again Otieno came up trumps, tipping the ball away.
However, Royal AM were lucky that they didn’t concede many goals in the first half, but goalie Xolani Ngcobo was at his best form to pull off good saves.
Also the return of Ricardo Nascimento to organize things at the back, made a huge difference for Royal AM.
“In the first half, we couldn’t get things right in terms of how we played. We never created many chances in the first half which was worrying for me because if you look at the game, they created chances and our goalkeeper saved us,” said Nteo after the game.
“But as the game wore on, we grew and grew. They understood what was important to win this game but we didn’t manage to.
“We could have gotten three goals in the second half. But I’m happy with the performance. We can take it from here and maybe in the second leg we can improve.”
The second leg will take place at Levy Mwanawasa Stadium in Ndola on Saturday. However, ZESCO have not lost at home in this competition in the last 12 years, which means Royal AM will have to be at their best to beat the Zambian outfits in what will be packed to rafters in Ndola, according to the club officials.
Kaizer Chiefs were beaten 3-1 in the 2019 edition, while SuperSport United came back with a 2-2 draw in the 2017 edition, before reaching the final. Nteo knows what lies ahead for his side in the second leg.
“The supporters are going to be 12th player for them,” admits Nteo.
“But we need to make sure that we control the game. If we can get one goal, things will change. But if we can defend well like we did, that means, with the chances we created today, we can also score some goals. And I think we will do that in the second leg.”
This is not a new stage for Nteo. He was the assistant coach to John Maduka for Bloemfontein Celtic in the 2020/21 season. But Celtic were crushed 5-0 by Rivers United of Nigeria in the second round on aggregate.
