Aggrey Chiyangi has described Green Eagles successful elimination of Orlando Pirates from the 2019/2020 CAF Champions League as special.
Eagles drew 1-1 away against Pirates in Soweto on Saturday evening in their first round, final leg tie to advance 2-1 on aggregate to September’s pre-group stage of this season’s CAF Champions League.
“Football is played on the pitch and not in the papers. They talked too much in the papers. We play football on the pitch,” Chiyangi said.
“We had a good plan, yes fine, they missed so many chances but that is what football is all about. The only goodness is we scored making it difficult for them because they had to score two goals to beat us.
“I think the players did very well and I thank them so much for that.”
Happy Jele headed-in the opening goal, putting Pirates ahead in the 59th minute, but two minutes later, Amity Shamende leveled matters to hurt the 1995 African champions hopes of overturning the deficit.
“It (the result) was very important and that is what we needed, we knew that Pirates is a very experienced team, with very good players, very good football but we had to match them and that’s what we did in defence,” Chiyangi said.
Eagles will now face Desportivo de 1Agosto of Angola in the pre-group stage next month whom they host on September 14 in Lusaka before travelling to Luanda on September 24 to decide who goes through to the league phase of the competition.
Was at Orlando stadium in Soweto to see the game. As soon as the equalizer was netted in, I knew that ama Bakabaka had a very slim chance of overturning the deficit!
I did not like though how PF cadres clad in party regalia were behaving at the Zambian corner spot. Trying the turn the enjoyable occasion into a PF event and ECL’s re-election messaging …
Had it been UPND cadres turning the affair into you would have been happy claiming HH was an international candidate
This is football, put politics aside. Congrats Green Eagles and all the best in the next games
Congratulations to the team for such a wonderful game against the experienced Pirates.