Manzini, Eswatini — Zimbabwe champions Simba Bhora step onto Somhlolo National Stadium this afternoon determined to turn a first leg advantage into outright progress in the Total Energies Caf Champions League.
They lead Nsingizini Hotspurs from last weekend's opening fixture and, fuelled by a Betterbrands US$100 000 win bonus, have vowed to attack again rather than sit back.
Coach Joel Luphahla said his side's preparation for moments like this began months ago.
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"Playing away from home is never easy, it's difficult, you can't say you will do this, you will do that. We just have to trust in what these boys have been doing because we started preparing for this game not even yesterday, not even last week but in January when we started pre-season because we knew we will have to play these games," he said.
He wants his players to stay on the front foot.
"I know at times when you carry a first leg lead some coaches get tempted to defend the lead but for us we need to play our game and make sure we make it difficult for them. That is the best way to play football, you cannot come and defend the whole 90 minutes because they have got quality, I don't want to lie, so we need to be ready for everything and make sure that we throw everything that we have."
The draw for the next round pits the winners against either Tanzania's Simba SC or Gaborone United, adding extra incentive for a convincing finish.
Luphahla also draws confidence from the fact that both clubs come from Southern Africa, meaning similar playing styles and physical profiles.
"The good thing about this game is that we are playing another Southern Africa club. That means we play almost a similar type of football brand and almost similar type of player frame. It's going to be difficult but at the end of the day we want to try and make sure we go to the next round of which we need to play good winning football," he said.
The former Warriors forward is back at Somhlolo National Stadium 21 years after setting up a Peter Ndlovu goal in Zimbabwe's famous 5-0 Cosafa Cup win over Sihlangu. But he insists history will count for little on Sunday.
"The way our team was set up, it is in a way that we don't have star players, we have got a team so I am not banking on any particular individuals but we are banking on the team spirit because we have created this team to be like a family so we are carrying that family bond, that is what we are banking on, the family bond," he added.
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Simba Bhora reported a clean bill of health and expect full backing from travelling and resident Zimbabweans.
Both clubs remained strangely out of sight on Friday, skipping scheduled public engagements. Even as Nsingizini Hotspurs' PRO Mnotfo Dlamini and a small marketing team worked the streets with a low-key pre-match activation, players and coaches from both sides kept their whereabouts private, frustrating reporters.
Later in the day, the teams were expected to attend Royal Leopard's 5-0 (7-0 aggregate) demolition of Namibia's Young African in the Total Energies Confederation Cup at the same venue, a symbolic reopening of Somhlolo after seven years off the international circuit.
Dlamini still talked tough.
"Overall, the entire Nsingizini Hotspurs are going to be men of wonders. We promise the nation progress to the next round," he declared.
