Nkana will exit the 2014 CAF Champions League – Chris ‘Gazza’ Tembo

11/02/2014

Mfanafuthi Mbhembe of Mbabane Swallows celebrates with teammate Sabelo

NEED A TAXI RIDE IN ZAMBIA? INSTALL APP TODAY TO RIDE!!

MBABANE Swallows coach Chris ‘Gazza’ Tembo says Nkana will exit the 2014 CAF Champions League on Saturday.
Tembo said in an interview here on Sunday that his team will be in Kitwe to defend their 2-0 lead.
“We will not allow Nkana to overturn the result when we travel to Kitwe for a return leg. We are coming to Zambia to finish off the job we have started so that we can successfully qualify to the next round of the championship,” Tembo said.
The Zambian coach said the availability of top strikers Sabelo ‘Sikhali’ Ndzinisa and Mike Mohammed will make things difficult for Nkana.
Ndzinisa had an ankle injury while Mohammed collided with a teammate last week during training.
On Nkana’s defeat, Tembo said the Kitwe outfit made a lot of mistakes that saw them getting punished.
Nkana must beat Swallows by three unanswered goals for them for qualify to the first round.
But Nkana coach Masautso Mwale said his team is down but not out of the lucrative competition.
Mwale said his team will work hard to ensure they overturn the result.
He said the technical bench will work on the lapses that cost Nkana victory in Mbabane.
“We are not giving up after this unfortunate defeat to Swallows. It is very possible to overturn the result in the first. It is sad that we made unnecessary defensive errors that cost us. We gifted them those goals. Our defenders should have done better than that,” Mwale said.
He defended his decision to substitute striker Ronald ‘Sate Sate’ Kampamba for Jimmy Ndhlovu.
“Kampamba was well-policed by Mbabane defenders, so I decided to make a tactical decision,” Mwale said.
Nkana skipper Sydney Kalume described the defeat as a bitter pill to swallow.
Kalume said they will put in extra effort in this Saturday’s match to ensure they progress to the next round.
“It wasn’t our day. We tried our best but things did not go the way we wanted them to go,” Kalume said.
The defeat ended Nkana’s unbeaten record against Swazi opposition in African competitions stretching back to 1983.