By SANDRA MWILA
at Woodland Stadium –
Napsa 0 Zesco 2
ZESCO United have gone second on the FAZ-MTN Super League log after brushing aside struggling side Napsa Stars 2-0 in a rescheduled Week Two match played at Woodlands Stadium.
With the win, Zesco move to 12 points, closing the gap on leaders Nkana to four points.
Nkana, who sit on 16 points, have played two games more than the surging champions.
A brace by their Kenyan forward Jesse-Jackson Were was enough for Zesco to collect three points and leave Napsa rooted at the bottom of the league table with three points, having played seven games.
Were opened the scoreline in the 32nd minute after capitalising on the Napsa defence failure to clear their lines and the forward punished the home side.
Twenty minutes into the second half, Were completed his brace when he scored from inside the box after dribbling past Napsa’s unconvincing defence.
Napsa were awarded a penalty in the 65th minute by refeere Stanley Hachibwa when Ben Banh handed the ball in the box and Matthew Macha stepped up only for Zesco goalie Jacob Banda to save the spot kick.
Earlier in the game, Jackson Mwanza’s shot was saved by Napsa goalkeeper Rabson Mucheleng’anga when he was found in space by Clatous Chama from a free-kick.
Jacob Banda was on song as he saved a well-taken Brian Lubaba corner in the 40th minute as Napsa tried to breathe some life into the game.
Under pressure Napsa coach Wilson Mwale’s three-game ultimatum came to an end with yet another loss and will have an anxious wait as the executive ponders his fate.
Mwale was given a three-game ultimatum in week three but has two draws and one loss.
Napsa secretary Owen Chimpinde said Mwale’s fate would be known today after an executive meeting.
“We will have a meeting this evening (yesterday)and we shall evaluate the three games. We are playing well but not scoring and a solution needs to be found,” he said.
Zanaco 4 Dynamos 0
Zanaco found the needed tonic after a disappointing CAF campaign by demolishing Lusaka Dynamos by four goals to nil to remind the competitors that they mean business, reports ADRIAN MWANZA from Sunset Stadium.
The ‘bankers’ winger Charles Zulu pounced on a loose ball to score the opener in as early as the fourth minute to calm nerves and sent Sunset into celebration in this rescheduled Week Five fixture.
Striker Fashion Sakala joined the scoring party with a brace when he extended Zanaco’s lead in the 20th minute. He added his second goal five minutes to the end of the first half to complete his double.
In between Sakala’s strikes, veteran midfielder Isaac Chansa was also on target for the ‘bankers’ in the 35th minute to add gloss to the tie.
With the win, Zanaco, just like Zesco, have a perfect record in the league.
Zanaco assistant coach Dabid Chilufya, buoyed by the result, said they had put the loss in Tunisia behind them and were now focused on winning league games.
“We are serious title contenders and in this game we ensured that we did not concede any goal,” he said.
His Lusaka Dynamos counterpart Perry Mutapa said his team put up a poor performance which saw them lose by a big margin.
“We need to get in the right frame of mind when we face Nkana next weekend if we are to win that game,” he said.
The victory moved Zanaco to nine points in seventh position, having played three games.