By MOSES CHIMFWEMBE –

Mali 1 Zambia 0
HECTOR Chilombo has backed his Zambia Under-20 soccer team to reach the semi-finals of the Senegal 2015 Africa Youth Championship despite losing the opening match 1-0 to Mali.
Chilombo was also left sweating on the speedy recovery of captain Lubambo Musonda who limped off the match played on Monday night after picking up an ankle injury midway the first half.
Alassane Diallo’s 73rd minute strike deprived Zambia of a dream start at the Caroline Faye Stadium in M’Bour as the lads now need to beat Ghana to remain in contention for a semi final slot.
Diallo, who was named the Most Valuable Player of the match, finished off a well-rehearsed free-kick after Souleymane Diarra set him up, with a shot that caught Zambia goalkeeper Mangani Banda off guard.
Influential skipper Lubambo saw his header narrowly miss target in the 15th minute before he limped off after sustaining an ankle injury six minutes later to be replaced by Patson Daka.
Diarra kept the Zambian back four on their toes and his partnership with Malick Toure gave the Zambians defenders some tough moments.
Sautu almost opened the scoring in the 68th minute when his volley clipped the crossbar with Mali goalkeeper Sory Traore beaten.
Mali continued pressing on for a goal and got rewarded courtesy of a Diallo’s thunderbolt from a free kick in the last quarter of the game.
Chilombo rued Zambia’s missed chances but remained confident that his side will sail through to the semi finals.
“We knew it was going to be a tough game and we were prepared for it but unfortunately Mali managed to sneak a goal from a set piece. We are down but not out” Chilombo told a post match conference.
Chilombo said he was happy with the team’s performance because the players had shown that they can improve.
“We will remain focused and work harder in the next game. The tournament is on and we will fight on,” he said.
Deputy team captain, Spencer Sautu said the match was tough with a few scoring chances for either side. Sautu also remained optimistic that Zambia can still progress to the semi-finals.
“They (Mali) had one opportunity and they scored from it. We hope to take our chances in our next game,” Sautu said.
Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) president, Kalusha Bwalya told SuperSport that there is all to play for in the remaining two group fixtures.
“It was a tough match for us. We were unlucky to concede through a free kick but there are still six points to play for,” Kalusha said.
Zambia will tomorrow face Ghana, who leads the group on three points after beating South Africa 2-0, while second placed Mali equally on three points will next face the Amajita.