African Stars should take heart from their brief foray into the CAF Champions League, their head coach Prince George Koffie said following Saturday’s controversial elimination from the competition in Zambia.
They lost 1-0 to Power Dynamos at the Levy Mwanawasa Stadium in Ndola, courtesy of a disputed penalty from Congolese striker Andy Boyeli at 27 minutes, when his teammate John Soko appeared to have been brought down just outside the visiting side’s box.
Stars then watched on in disbelief as striker Peter Adiwoh’s 65th minute goal was ruled out for offside, again the call appeared incorrect.
The Zambians advance to the next round on away goals after the tie ended 2-2 on aggregate.
“You’re gallant losers, don’t worry. It is very painful because that was not our target. Our objective was to progress to the group stage of the Champions League. Unfortunately, this is the end of the road for us,” Koffie said in his post match team talk posted on African Stars’ Facebook page.
Koffie conceded that allowing their rivals to score in the first leg came back to haunt the Namibian champions. But he feels his side managed the second leg relatively well, and were desperately unlucky not to at least get a draw from the encounter.
Dynamos, who next face Simba SC of Tanzania in the next round, shaded the first half but clung on for the win as Stars wrestled the initiative in the second.
“That’s not the end of our lives. I want you to take this as a learning curve. Next time, if we’re able to qualify to this stage, I think we have learnt our lessons and we’ll make sure we’ll do the needful. So, just take it easy. Don’t worry. It has happened and let’s put it behind us.
The Ghanaian mentor declined to comment on the moments of controversy. However, he does not see Dynamos, the 1991 African Cup Winners’ Cup champions, going further than the next round.
“I am a type of a coach who doesn’t like to criticise the officiating but my team deserved to win. It’s sad that we are out of this race. But Power Dynamos will not go far in this competition. They have a lot to improve on going forward if they want to stay in the competition,” said Koffie.
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