Pamplemousses coach Tony Francois showered praises for Ngezi Platinum Stars after his side were dumped out of the CAF Confederation Cup by the Zimbabwean cup winners at the National Sports on Saturday.

A solitary strike by Terrence Dzvukamanja ensured a victory for Ngezi who now face Recreativo do Libolo of Angola in the first round next month.

The reverse fixture ended 1-1 in Mauritius last Sunday.

Although Francois felt his side deserved a penalty in the 22nd minute when Ngezi defender Dominic Mukandi appeared to have handled, the Pamplemousses coach admitted his side lost to a better side.

“I can’t tell how far they will go in this tournament but I have to admit Ngezi are a very good side. They have athletic players, very strong, physically fit and well disciplined.

“We lost to a good side,” Francois told SportsZone after the game.

Ngezi Platinum Stars could have won by a bigger margin but their strikers took turns to miss with dribbling wizard coming closest in the 56th minute.

He missed a rebound from close range after Pamplemousses goalkeeper Jean Louis Kevin had spilled a Qadr Amini strike.

Ngezi will now play Libolo of Angola in March.