Sofapaka fail at home: Timbe says all not lost for ‘Batoto Ba Mungu’ side in Confed Cup

Sofapaka coach Sam Timbe remained defiant despite his side going down 2-1 against Platinum of Zimbabwe in their first round preliminary Confederation Cup match at Nyayo Stadium, yesterday.

The result means Sofapaka have a mountain to climb going into the second leg but Timbe insisted all is not lost.

"Today, we played really well and were let down by poor finishing. If we had converted our chances the results would have been different. However, all is not lost. This is a game of football and anything can happen.

"Our chances of making it to the first round are still high. We just need to be more clinical in front of goal and we should get the results we need," he said in a post-match interview.

Sofapaka must win the return match by more than two goals to be assured of making it to the next round of the competition, which features Cup winners from different federations.

Platinum scored through Brian Muzondiwa in the 25th minute and Donald Ngoma in the 77th minute with Fiston Rizak pulling one back for the home early in the second half.

The visitors looked more composed and determined for the victory taking advantage of a leaking Sofapaka defence to score.

The first goal came from a counter-attack after Felly Mulumba failed to go back to his line on time and Muzondiwa sneaked in to beat David Okello with a low shot.

But Sofapaka should have got back into the match as soon as they conceded with Fiston Rizak hitting the side net from the restart.

After that, the home side dominated possession as they upped the pressure in search for an equaliser.

Fiston Rizak and Enock Agwanda gave the Platinum defence a lot of problems. Petros Mhari in goal denied Antony Ndolo from a corner kick and in the 35th minute Enock Agwanda was denied having been fed by Rizak Fiston.

At the start of the second half, it was the visitors who got the first chance to increase their tally, as Raphael Muduviwa beat David Okello in Sofapaka goal before picking out Walter Musona who blasted wide.

Sofapaka then equalised in the 48th minute after Fiston Rizak put his side back into the match. The Burundian was denied once again two minutes later after his goal but the Platinum goalkeeper came out to clear the danger.

As the home side upped the pressure, Enock Agwanda and Fiston Rizak combined well with the former being denied from a hard shot. Sofapaka then rested Patrick Kagogo for Kevin Omondi and Enock Agwanda for John Barasa.

The visitors on the other hand rested Wisdom Mutasa for Wellingtone Kamudyariwa.