Zambia’s Power Dynamos FC’s journey in the CAF Champions League came to a painful end at the Azam Complex, following a 1-1 draw with Tanzania’s Simba SC on Sunday.
The two went into the second leg of their tie 2-2 on aggregate. Dynamos needed an outright win to advance to the group stage for the first time ever. Sixteen minutes into the match, Congolese striker Andy Boyeli scored his third goal in the Champions League preliminary round to put Dynamos in the lead.
The Zambians went on the break leading by a goal and looked to be headed for a famous victory. However, in the second stanza, Simba came guns blazing and had many chances, but Dynamos held on to their lead. However, in the 68th, Kondwani Chiboni gifted Simba an equalizer after putting the ball in his own net.
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The match ended 3-3 on aggregate, which meant Dynamos were eliminated from the competition on the away goal rule. The Zambian side has never qualified for the group stage of the Champions League. For the fourth season in a row, there will be no Zambian club in the group stage of the competition.
Dynamos, who won the African Cup Winners’ Cup in 1991, have previously participated in the Champions League in 1998, 2001, and 2012, with all attempts ending in the qualifying rounds. They remain the only Zambian club to win a continental trophy, the African Winners Cup which was merged with the CAF Cup in 2004 to form the CAF Confederation Cup.