By Angela Bambala Bwalya
Red Arrows head coach Chisi Mbewe has called for improvement after admitting his side were below their best despite securing a 2-0 win over Madagascar’s FC Rouge in the first leg of their CAF Confederation Cup preliminary round tie.
The Airmen took a commanding advantage into Saturday’s return leg after Eliya Mundanji opened the scoring in the 39th minute before Alassane Diarra doubled the lead 12 minutes into the second half at Levy Mwanawasa Stadium.
However, Mbewe was not entirely satisfied with his team’s performance.
“A good result but a bit disappointed with the way we played, not our best,” Mbewe said. “We had a lot of chances to convert but a lot of lessons learnt.”
The Red Arrows coach believes the number of opportunities created was encouraging, but says his players must become more clinical in front of goal.
“That’s one of our training objectives. We go into training and ensure that we polish up on the scoring,” he said.
“If a team is creating chances, it’s a good thing. We need to be clinical and ensure that we are finishing our chances.”
Mbewe said the first-leg performance had also highlighted areas that need attention before the return fixture.
“We know areas we need to improve to protect the 2-0 lead,” he said.
The coach expects FC Rouge to pose an even greater threat on home soil, having seen enough from the Madagascan side to suggest the tie is far from over.
“I think it will be a difficult return game. They had full confidence. They were away but with a lot of confidence,” Mbewe said.
“They also created numerous chances. It’s just unfortunate that they didn’t score.”
Despite his concerns over the performance, Mbewe believes the result gives Red Arrows a strong platform to progress.
“This is football, sometimes the way you anticipate and plan is not the way the game turns out, so the most important thing is that we fought to win this game,” he said.
Red Arrows’ ultimate target is to reach the Confederation Cup group stage, but Mbewe insists his side must take the lessons from the opening encounter into the second leg.
“The first game is always difficult, but going forward you see the team improve and eventually qualify to the group stage and even beyond,” he said.
Red Arrows travel to Madagascar for the return leg against FC Rouge on Saturday, 12 September 2026, holding a 2-0 advantage from the first meeting.
