FC Platinum, Sagrada Esperança face off in CAF Champions League first preliminary

Zimbabwe champions FC Platinum make a return to the CAF Champions League with a clash against Sagrada Esperança of Angola in the first preliminary round on the 10th of next month.

The platinum miners know they have a litmus test ahead given they have been inactive for a while with the Norman Mapeza coached outfit only receiving the greenlight to resume training a week ago from the Sports and Recreation Commission.

FC Platinum will first travel to Dundo, Lunda Norte province before hosting the Angolan champions in Harare ia week later.

The Zimbabwean outfit was knocked out of the previous edition of the competition by Simba SC of Tanzania in dramatic fashion when they lost 1-4 on aggregate but the platinum miners will be hoping for a better performance this time around.

FC Platinum had an early Christmas in 2020 and hopes were high they would progress to the group stages of the tournament after posting a 1-0 win over the Msimbazi Street giants at the National Sports Stadium on the 23rd of December before COVID-19 was weaponised against them to lose 4-0 in the reverse fixture on the 6th of January 2021 in Dar es Salaam.

This time around Mapeza and his charges will be cautious in their approach to the game especially when it comes to away matches as the African jungle is a tough journey with dusty and rough roads.