By Angela Bambala Bwalya
Green Eagles head coach Perry Mutapa believes his side missed an opportunity to extend their winning run after being held to a goalless draw by Nkwazi in the Transitional League on Saturday.
The Stream B leaders were unable to find a breakthrough in the 0-0 stalemate on 24 October, with Mutapa admitting that Nkwazi started the stronger side before his team grew into the contest and created better opportunities towards the end.
Despite acknowledging Nkwazi’s bright opening, Mutapa felt Green Eagles had done enough in the latter stages to claim all three points.
“In terms of chances, Nkwazi played well, especially in the first half. After 15 to 20 minutes, we started coming into the game. Going towards the end, I think we were the team with more chances to win, so I will say two points dropped,” Mutapa said.
The Green Eagles coach also highlighted the importance of squad depth, praising the impact of his substitutes as the team sought a late winner.
“Yes, you are right. That is why it is good to have depth. I think this season we are having players who are coming from the bench and making an impact, as you saw today,” he said.
Mutapa acknowledged that Nkwazi controlled the opening exchanges but argued that their possession did not translate into significant goal-scoring threats, pointing to his side’s tactical approach to limiting the visitors’ attacking options.
“In the first 15 to 20 minutes, I think Nkwazi played well. But in terms of threatening at goal, they did not, although they controlled the game,” he explained.
He added that Green Eagles had sought to prevent Nkwazi from playing forward passes into their striker, allowing runners such as Masanyinga to exploit the resulting lay-offs and create shooting opportunities.
Green Eagles came close to snatching a winner in the second half, but Nkwazi goalkeeper Mangani Banda produced an important save to deny them.
“You saw when he came on, I think in the second half, we gave him one chance. It was a good save from Mangani. Towards the end, we will say yes, we could have won it. But this is a team where, at a stadium, we will take a point,” Mutapa added.
The draw leaves Green Eagles top of Stream B with 10 points from four matches, maintaining their position at the summit despite dropping points for the first time in the campaign.
Mutapa’s side will now turn their attention to a meeting with Kabwe Warriors, who did not feature over the weekend after their scheduled opponents, Red Arrows, were away on CAF Confederation Cup duty.
Green Eagles will be keen to return to winning ways and strengthen their position at the top as the transitional campaign progresses.
