Ngezi Platinum Stars are through to the next round after beating Pamlemousses FC of Mauritius 1-0 in the CAF Confederation Cup at the National Sports Stadium in Harare.
Ngezi Platinum Stars are a relatively new team owned by the Ngezi based mining conglomerate ZIMPLATS and have this year gone ahead of traditional giants such as Dynamos and Highlanders and are participating in the African tournament for the fisrt time in their history.
The victory was met with some ecstasy among emotional fans of the remote mining team who traveled over 160km from Mhondoro to proudly watch their team participate in the African Safari as the Confederation of African Football (CAF) moved the match venue from Baobab Stadium to the National Sports Stadium in Harare.
It is important to know how the traveling fans feel and what makes them pledge their undying support to the team. Soccer24 also looked for perspectives into what progressing to the second round means for a few fans of the mining team:
We are so happy, our team played very well. We are so excited. It means we will win all our matches in the tournament – Simbarashe Munetsi.
Another said:
I’m very happy. Going to the next round means a lot of joy for us as the fans. The company [ZIMPLATS] has also made us very happy. Tonde [Ndiraya] will help the boys to score and not waste opportunities . . . but to tell the truth, God loves us [Ngezi Platinum] – James Tayari.
Yet another said:
I’m very happy despite the fact that we scored just one goal. For the fans, it means the team is going forward, we are not going backwards . . . and as a team we need to keep this winning spirit. And as supporters [we] have to come in numbers to support the team.
I think in this game, our guys were lacking somewhere somehow, but they have to prove to the whole country that they can do it. Ngezi is a new team as we all know, but we want to show that being new doesn’t mean anything, and that we can do anything that can be done by a big team – Martin Chigwada.
Other fans took to social media to say:
Great guys! Congratulations on progressing. To [Tonderai] Ndiraya, ensure the strikers polish up on their finishing. All the best in the next round. Now it’s Caps [United]’s turn tomorrow – Styles Machaisi.