ZESCO, ETOILE DU SAHEL FOR ‘BIRDS’

MBABANE – There is a glimmer of hope for Mbabane Swallows to advance to the quarter-finals after avoiding Al-Ahly and TP Mazembe in the CAF Champions League.

And you could not fault the duo of coach Thabo ‘Koki’ Vilakati and General Manager Sandile ‘Beyond 2000’ Zwane for calling the pairing fair.
Swallows were in Pot 3 before the draw with; MC Alger, KCCA and Guinea’s Horoya F.C. Swallows, who are in group D against Angola’s Primeiro de Agosto, who eliminated South Africa’s Bidvest Wits, Tunisia’s Etoile du Sahel and Zesco United of Zambia, believe they can reach the last 8 of the competition.

The draw was held in Cairo last night and it was broadcast live on SuperSport 4 Sports Channel.
According to the fixture they will start their campaign away to Zesco United on the weekend on May 4-6.
Vilakati said it was a blessing in disguise to start away.

“We don’t need to be cry babies at this stage of the competition, except to work harder. The games are winnable if we apply ourselves well. I would have been worried being in group B where there are stronger teams,” he said.
He said playing Zesco after beating Zanaco posed a great challenge.

“I believe we have garnered enough experience to handle the situation at this level of the game. We have to show our character for our fans and the country at large, which we now represent,” he said.
Zwane was ecstatic at avoiding clubs like TP Mazembe and Al-Ahly of Egypt.

“The draw has given us an opportunity to fulfil our late chairman Victor Gamedze’s dream, which was to reach the knockout stages.
“We call upon the nation to render its fullest support to the club as it seeks to make history,” he said.
Captain Tony ‘TT’ Tsabedze could not be reached for comments as his cellphone was switched off.

Tunisian side Etoile du Sahel are favourites to top the group by virtue of being former winners of the cup. They also won the CAF Confederation Cup two times. Zesco who will be making their third appearance in the group stages, reached the semi-finals in 2016. In 2009 they were eliminated in the group stages.

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