Yesterday, Zesco, with new coach Mwenya Chipepo in charge, fended off the attack from Red Arrows, Zambia’s representatives in the CAF Confederation Cup to end with seven points.
In earlier games at this tournament, Zesco beat AS Simba of Tanzania 1-0 before repeating that scoreline against Zambian champions Power Dynamos.
“We have done well, yes but we haven’t scored enough. We struggled in front of goal and that is an area we need to work on. Yes there was fatigue having played five games in eight days but we need to work on the frontline. It’s another area I see we can improve on,” he said.
Arrows coach Chisi Mbewe was unbothered by the result and said the tournament served its purpose to get his team ready for the forthcoming season – both local and continental.
“We are in off season and we are trying out a lot of things and this includes a lot of players who don’t get enough game time and also the new signings. We want to assess all the players we have. And I think we have a good picture of where we are and how to proceed,” he said.
As if this game was not trouble enough, Chisi has African giant TP Mazembe to deal with in upcoming international friendly matches in Ndola.
“We have two games coming and one is against TP Mazembe and in those games, I will use the main team,” he said.
The game had few chances and they came too far apart and it was no surprise it ended goalless.
Power hold Simba : Power 0-0 AS Simba
POWER coach Oswald Mutapa was left less than impressed with his side finishing second at the four-club international pre-season tournament and said that results mattered to him, whether in a friendly tournament or not.
Speaking after his side drew against Democratic Republic of Congo side AS Simba, Mutapa said his side needed to do better. Power was the only club at this tournament that failed to beat the Kolwezi based side.
“Yes, this was a friendly tournament but results matter, just as the combination and ball movement. We didn’t score and we can not claim that we didn’t because it’s a friendly game. We had our chances to score but we failed to utilise them, there can be no excuse,” he said.
That aside, Power has Sudanese side Al Merreikh to deal with next month in the CAF Champions League and Mutapa assured the fans his team would be ready.
“At this tournament, we tried out different combinations and I can say we made progress and we will be ready for Al Merreikh,” he said.
AS Simba coach John Birindwa left with a positive attitude praising his charges.
On the two Zambian continental envoys, Birindwa said both Power and Arrows were ready for continental duty.
“These two sides are ready for the CAF games. Everyone saw their levels of the game and it’s high. I was happy with their intensity as well,” he said.
