WE LOST TO A DETERMINED SIDE: MUMAMBA

ZESCO United coach, Numba Mumamba believes the club will bounce back from its’ recent 0-1 defeat to Nkwazi in the FAZ/MTN Super League week twelve rescheduled fixture held at the Levy Mwanawasa stadium on Wednesday.

Nkwazi’s Christopher Zulu converted from the spot kick the only goal of the game after Marcel Kalonda was judged to have fouled Bernard Kumwenda inside ZESCO United’s penalty box.

Mumamba’s side lost an opportunity to go top of the log table when they hosted a Nkwazi side that was swimming in the relegation zone before Wednesdays fixture.

In his post-match assessment, Mumamba expressed disappointments at the team’s failure to collect maximum points at home.

“Our aim was to get maximum points especially against a side that many would think we would easily get points from. We played well, however it is worth highlighting that we faced a very determined Nkwazi side. They gave us a tough time especially in defence.”

Mumamba dispelled any assumptions of fatigue when asked if Sunday’s game against Nkana had any impact on the team.

“Fatigue is not the reason for today’s defeat. We psyched our players what to expect from a team sitting in the relegation zone like Nkwazi. We knew that they were going to come at us with everything and that’s exactly what transpired.

Nkwazi gave us a tough time today because they attacked and defended as a unit. They were quick off the blocks the moment we lost the ball. That’s what led us to concede a penalty,” Mumamba explained.

The ZESCO United gaffer bemoaned the lack of natural wingers in the team: “Our team is currently dominated by midfielders. We are currently lacking natural wingers who can help us especially when we are attacking in the wings. We need to bring in those crosses from the wings.

The wingers we have are more of midfielders because they like playing inside the pitch making it difficult for us to penetrate. If we can penetrate from the wings, it will be easy to create scoring opportunities.”

Meanwhile Mumamba says the team will shift focus to their next fixture against Lusaka Dynamos.

“Our focus is to keep encouraging the players. We will get back into training as soon as possible and start preparations for our next encounter against Lusaka Dynamos. The boys played well today unfortunately it wasn’t just our day.”

ZESCO United have at least one week to prepare for their next crucial home fixture against the capital city based league giants, Lusaka Dynamos.

Author: Desmond Katongo