Copper Queens forward Rachel Kundananji has described the team’s loss to the Matildas as a very painful ordeal.
Kundananji says the loss is more painful than a heartbreak because the team could smell a win but alas lost the match in the end.
The Copper Queens gave away a 5-2 lead to lose 6-5 to Australia in their penultimate group match on Sunday evening.
“I feel like we went well in the game, starting from the first half what we were told to do when pressing, and when we had a chance in attack which we did, I feel like we just lost concentration and that’s why we Conceded a lot of goals. We were winning and we just gave it away,” she said.
“I would say this is more than a heartbreak, we saw three points coming to team Zambia, and then it just went like that , not even getting a point, we just got zero, that’s so painful. It has taught us that we have to work on some things defensively, we need to work together as a team and work on those mistakes as a team, not just defenders, they need help,” she added.
The most expensive female football player in history has since urged her teammates to focus on their last group game since the Australia game is in the past.
“This game is now in the past, I urge my fellow players to focus on the next game which we have. We have a chance to get three points if we work on our mistakes and have the confidence that we usually have. I feel in this game we lost confidence and they used that against us,” she said.
“When Barbra Banda scored the first goal , I was motivated, and I used her as a decoy for my first goal and it worked out, I was just trying it out, I was happy. Imagine scoring five goals from the plan, we need to now work on our defensive part because we conceded four goals in the second half, how can we explain that. We need to work on those mistakes as a team. The coaches did their part and told us everything, we just needed to do that.”
“I was thinking she was going to pass to Esther, I was waiting for the second ball, then I saw she made the cross and I saw it and was alone, I just needed to go and connect,” she added.
Kundananji has asked the fans not to give up on the team as they need their support more now for them to rise up again.
“They should not give up on us so easily . This is when we need that support they give us when we win because we never wanted to lose, they saw how we were fighting. If we lose and they give up on us it will be difficult for us to come back because we need a hand to hold on for us to get up,” Kundananji said.
The team has since shifted base to St Etienne for their final Group B match against Germany on Wednesday.
Coach Bruce Mwape’s charges left for St Etienne at 15:00 hours and will set up base in St Etienne where they will play Germany.
As they mourn the heart break, they should learn from the Matildas, they were able to score 4 goals in the second half because they played like a team, team work by the Matildas was 101%! They passed to each other even in the penalty area! But for Barbra, Kundananji, Mupopo, Prisca, Chilufya, Lushomo Mweemba, they just wanted to score and make a name! By passing to each other within the penalty area, you easily confuse your opponents! So the Matildas passed to each other, and played a very fast game to confuse the Zambian players! Also somebody must always be close to Barbra Banda because other teams have come to know her as being very fast in running with the ball, so they simply pull her down and she loses the ball, so if a team mate is close to Barbra , she will pick up the ball and and go and score. The other teams have also come up with a tactic of kicking the ball away, in front of Barbra as she’s running with the ball, the USA applied that tactic very cleverly, and Barbra found it very difficult to score! So Barbara’s fellow players should be close to her whenever she’s in attack mode, to pick up the ball soon as she loses it, before the opposition keeper can reach it! Wish the girls better luck against Germany!
Don’t blame the players, a good Coach takes the blame. You lack Technical skill. You should have read the game and made necessary changes or gave the right instructions in good time. You are incompetent in the Technical, just accept it.
The Coach leaves much to be desired and it is time we bring in someone else who can marshall these talented lads