Simon Nkhata scored the only goal of the game as Napsa Stars beat Kansanshi Dynamos by a lone goal but the midfielder was nearly substituted eleven minutes before scoring the goal that proved to be the winner.
Head coach Muhammad Fathi explained that Simon was playing with a knee injury and had complained at a half time hence it was a difficult call to either remove him or Collins Sikombe who was surrounded by three players but the technical bench finally settled for the latter.
“Our decision about the substitution, We looked at Simon who was complaining about his knee at half so we were thinking about whether to substitute him or he could finish the game that’s why we had to take our time,” he said.
“Sikombe was surrounded by three players and he was our first choice to substitute but Simon has a knee injury so it was difficult for us but we took our decision to remove Sikombe and leave Simon. He played very well and scored a goal,” he added.
Nkhata benefited from poor defending and pounced on an Austin Banda cross to score the only goal of the game in the 79th minute and secure maximum points for the Pensioners.
The win sent Napsa Stars to the summit of the league table tied on six points with twelve-time Super League Champions, Nkana.
