Platinum Stars suffered a 1-0 defeat at the hands of  Vipers SC in their Caf Confederation Cup in the first leg at St Mary’s Stadium on Saturday. 

The match proved to be an evenly poised affair in the opening exchanges, with neither side able to carve out any clear-cut opportunities in the final third.

The Ugandan side had a chance to open the scoring midway through the first half, but Dikwena goalkeeper Mbongani Mzimela came to his side’s rescue when he produced a fine save to keep out a long distance effort.

After the first 45 minutes, neither side could take the lead as the match went into the half-time interval locked at 0-0.

However, shortly after the interval, Vipers broke the deadlock when Milton Karisa found the back of the net with his effort at goal to make it 1-0.

Dikwena coach Cavin Johnson opted to make a substitution midway through the second-half when Sipho Senne came on to replace Benson Shilongo as they went in search of an equalising goal.

Stars pressed forward in the closing stages of the match to find an away goal, but Shilongo managed to head over the crossbar as Vipers claimed a narrow 1-0 victory over Dikwena in the first leg encounter at St Mary’s Stadium.