Own Correspondent|FC PLATINUM coach Norman Mapeza said he feels hard done by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) after their recent approval of Mandava came a little bit late.

It recently came to light that the Zimbabwe champions’ fortress was never inspected, thereby, depriving them of a vital home advantage.

Mapeza’s men had to play their two home games against Orlando Pirates and Horoya at Barbourfields in Bulawayo which saw them busing some of their fans to beef up support.

Their opening match saw them being overshadowed on the 12th by Pirates given their attachment with Highlanders,

A goalless draw against Pirates and a 1-0 defeat against Horoya highlighted the need for a more familiar environment like in Zvishavane.

Mapeza understandably feels CAF removed a level playing field feel to the group matches as they are the only ones to use an improvised home ground.

“I feel hard done by CAF; I think they disadvantaged us by not using our home ground. All the teams in our group have the advantage of using their home grounds,” he said.

The Zimbabwe champions will play Esperance in their final group game at Mandava after travelling to face the Buccaneers in South Africa.

A win from the remaining two games will lift the lid of underachievement cast on Pure Platinum Play as they go out for consolation as their fate was sealed away in Guinea against Horoya.

Mapeza said the match against the defending champions Esperance, who defeated them 2-0 in Tunis in the reverse fixture, will just serve as entertainment for Mandava loyalists.

“It won’t change anything at the moment, although it will be good for our fans to come and watch us without any challenges of travelling,” he said.

Mapeza is on record stating that the campaign was a learning curve for the ever improving team who remain front runners to retain the league title as the new season beckons.