ZESCO United Football Club Team Ya Ziko
Kenyan International and ZESCO United shot stopper Ian Otieno has appealed to the club supporters to rally behind the team despite Saturdays 2-0 loss at the hands of Kansanshi Dynamos.
ZESCO United will this Saturday host Nkana at the Levy Mwanawasa stadium in a match that is expected to add more flavour to the fight for the championship.
“The objective was to beat Kansanshi Dynamos. This was the only thing on our minds when we left Ndola. It is sad that we lost the game and we know people, especially the fans are not happy about this.
“I can only appeal to our fans to continue supporting us. This is not the end of the road for the team. ZESCO United is still a big team, we are united, and we need our supporters like never before” Otieno said.
The Kenyan bemoaned ZESCO United’s failure to capitalize on the numerous chances the team created in the game.
“Personally, I think we did very well first few minutes of the game until they scored. We lacked concertation in the box because when we had the ball. They switched play and due to poor defending, they capitalized.
“I think we become frustrated when we missed our opportunities. As the game developed, that got to everyone, mentally. That sense of frustration contributed.”
Otieno expects the team to bounce back stronger ahead of Saturdays game against Nkana Football Club.
“The game against Nkana won’t be easy. But we have a whole week to prepare. Everyone here is a professional and we all know what we need to do on Saturday. I can only urge our supporters to come in big numbers especially in that game. I can assure them that we will do our level best to win that game.”
Meanwhile Otieno believes former club striker Jesse Were was a man on a mission ahead of last Saturdays game.
“We all knew that Jesse was going to have a point to prove. We talked about this in the pre-match meeting. Lucky for him he scored the two goals for his new team. It was just his day.”
ZESCO United will be aiming to make amends when they face Nkana on Saturday especially that the current league leaders, Red Arrows lost a big opportunity to stretch the lead at the top from 5 to 8.
The Airmen got baptized with a 2-0 score line when they faced the Zambia National Service sponsored, Green Eagles side.
Saturday’s loss for both ZESCO United and Red Arrows saw Green Eagles ascend to second position with 39 points while the league defending champions drop to 3rd with 38 points while the Airmen maintain 1st position with 43 points.
Author: Desmond Katongo
