• ZESCO United striker, Winston Kalengo (left) under pressure from Nkana defender Derrick Mwansa during the 2014 Barclays Cup final at the Levy Mwanawasa Stadium in Ndola at the weekend. Zesco won 3-0. Picture by JEAN MANDELA

By MOSES CHIMFWEMBE –
COACH George Lwandamina has said he has met the benchmarks set for him by Zesco United after winning the 2014 Barclays Cup which came a week after being crowned MTN-FAZ Premier League champions.
Zesco defeated Nkana 3-0 on Saturday at Levy Mwanawasa Stadium with Lwandamina becoming the first coach to win the Barclays Cup in two successive years but with two different clubs having won last year’s edition with Red Arrows.
In February this year, Lwandamina signed a three-year performance-based contract with Zesco with the target of winning the 2014 Premier League title and reaching the group stages of the 2014 CAF Confederation Cup.
Speaking in a post-match interview at Levy Mwanawasa Stadium, Lwandamina, who also won the 2014 Barclays Cup Coach-of-the-tournament award to pocket K10, 000, said he was pleased with his achievements.
Lwandamina said he was happy that he achieved the targets set for him by the Zesco executive committee despite the club reaching the second round of the continental championship.
“I am very happy to have won the league and the Barclays Cup, it is all because of the glory of God. I have been a runner up on several occasions in the league and God was preparing me for this moment.
“I have not been a bad coach and I am happy that I have achieved the targets given to me by the club. So with this victory, we will now look ahead for the next challenge,” Lwandamina said.
Meanwhile, Nkana coach Beston Chambeshi said the former league champions needed to pick up the pieces in order to come back with a bang next season.
Chambeshi said in an interview that the sending off of Maybin Chishimba in the 54th minute affected his game plan as he had to change his tactics.
“It’s a very disappointing result because the players started well and the red card cost us but I think we need to get back to the drawing board so that we can come back strong next season,” Chambeshi said.
Goals from Maybin Mwaba, Winstone Kalengo and Simon Silwamba gave Zesco their fourth Barclays Cup triumph.