ZESCO United Football Club Team Ya Ziko
ZESCO United yesterday beat their cross town rivals Forest Rangers 2-0 in a friendly match played at Ndola’s Trade Fair Grounds.
Goals from David Molinga and Jesse Were sealed ZESCO United’s victory over their fiercest rivals.
Both clubs were using yesterday’s encounter to gauge their player’s fitness levels after a spell of no league action for almost two weeks.
In his post-match comments, ZESCO United coach Numba Mumamba took less pleasure in the outcome of the game.
“It’s is good that we have won but I think the most important thing for us today was to evaluate our players fitness levels. There are players here who have not had game time and those who are just coming back from injury.
This was the right time for us to see how best they were going to fair and also look at their fitness levels,” Mumamba said.
Yesterday’s friendly saw Bruce Musakanya return to the pitch after a long spell on the sidelines following an injury sustained at the 2021 Cameroon CHAN tournament.
Newly signed striker Chitiya Mususu got a slight feel of what it entails to play in the Ndola derby although he limped off with what is suspected to be a calf injury.
“Bruce has not fully recovered from his injury. He is still struggling when running which is a sign that he needs time to fully retain to fitness. We will not rush him although we are optimistic he will make a retain before we play our next game in the league,” Mumamba said.
Mumamba was impressed with Mususu’s contribution but admitted that the striker needed to retain to full match fitness.
“Mususu played well despite limping off with a calf injury. The injury is not a serious one. What is needed for us is to make sure that he gets to full match fitness.”
Mumamba has appealed to ZESCO United players to take good care of themselves in order to ensure that they keep the winning momentum when the league resumes.
“My appeal to our players is that they take good care of themselves. We are monitoring them but at the end of they have the final say in terms of how they take care of their bodies when they are not with us.
I would also like to thank Forest Rangers for this wonderful gesture. It is beneficial to both teams.”
And Forest Ranger coach Tenant Chilumba said the friendly was crucial in assessing the levels of fitness among his players.
“This was a very important friendly to Forest Rangers. It has given us a very good idea in terms of our player’s fitness levels. We know what we need to do before the games resume. We are hoping we can organize another game with ZESCO United during the course of the week,” Chilumba said.
Author: Desmond Katongo
