TP Mazembe start well in CAF Champions League
Mazembe off to great start
Posted: 2010-07-19 08:50
Defending champions TP Mazembe got the defence of their CAF Champions League title off to the perfect start with a 2-0 victory over Dynamos of Zimbabwe in Harare on Sunday.
A first-half double from Zambian striker Given Singuluma gave Mazembe the three points in their Group A opener, and a precious away win in a competition where those are rare.
Mazembe coach Diego Garzitto was pleased with the result, but says there is still room for improvement from his side.
“We're happy to win away against a good team like Dynamos, and now we've got two home games, so we'll aim to win those too. But we made a few mistakes and we're going to work hard on those,” Garzitto says.
Dynamos coach Elvis Chiweshe says the result is disappointing, but that there are still five more matches for his side to book a semifinal spot.
“It was one of those games, we were a changed team in the second half, and I think we're still in the campaign,” Chiweshe says.
But Mazembe were not alone in winning on the road. Esperance of Tunisia claimed a fine 1-0 away win against Algerian side Entente Setif, last year's CAF Confederation Cup finalists. Wajdi Bouazzi scored the match winner on 52 minutes to give the visitors maximum points.
Not to be outdone, Algerian side JS Kabylie secured an excellent 1-0 success on the road in Egypt and the hostile environment of Ismaili.
The Group B encounter was a tight affair, but defender Essaid Belkalem netted the only goal of the game with 14 minutes left to play.
Finally, Egyptian giants Al Ahly secured a great away point in Owerri against last season's finalists Heartland after a 1-1 draw.
Bello Kofarmata had Heartland in the lead just before halftime before Mohamed Aboutreika converted from the penalty-spot late on for the Red Devils.
RESULTS
Group A
Entente Setif (Algeria) 0-1 Esperance (Tunisia)
Dynamos (Zimbabwe) 0-2 TP Mazembe (DR Congo)
Group B
Heartland (Nigeria) 1-1 Al Ahly (Egypt)
Ismaily (Egypt) 0-1 JS Kabylie (Algeria)
: 2010-07-20 10:11
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