ZESCO United Football Club Team Ya Ziko
ZESCO United defensive midfielder, Donashano Malama believes Sunday’s international friendly against Azam FC has given club young players an idea of what to expect at continental level.
Malama who was charged with the responsibility of providing defensive cover in the middle of the park expects Sundays match to boost players confidence ahead of Saturdays clash against Prison Leopards.
“This match gives the young ones a lot of confidence because some of them its their first game at this level. I am sure this is a confidence booster for all of us especially that we start the league on Saturday.
“There are players in our team who haven’t played football at this level especially such matches. This was a good outing that should ensure that we are ready for Saturdays league game. There should be no excuses, we should make sure we do our best to return the title,” he said.
Meanwhile ZESCO United Head Coach Numba Mumamba has declared his side ready for Saturdays league opener against Prison Leopards.
“The team is ready for the league. We have a few grey areas which we need to work on. However, we are happy with what we have seen before the start of the season.
“This was an important and exciting match against Azam FC. They have given us an idea of where we are in terms of readiness. The players accounted themselves very well. We were tactically disciplined that’s why we made life hard for them to penetrate and get a goal.”
And Numba feels the game against Azam was very important for most players who have just joined the club
“We started with the young stars in order to give them some confidence especially that there was a huge crowd here. Some of the young stars have never played football in such an atmosphere. It was a good motivation for them. This is what we expect as we start CAF because this was a good platform for us to assess our team.”
ZESCO United will this Saturday begin their quest to retain the league title against Prison Leopards.
Author: Desmond Katongo
