Nkana’s chances of surviving relegation have been handed a big blow after they suffered a 2-1 loss at the hands of Lusaka Dynamos while Prison Leopards and NAPSA Stars boosted their survival chances following narrow wins.
Zambia Super League defending Champions, Nkana’s quest to remain in the top flight suffered a major setback this afternoon after they succumbed to a 2-1 loss at the hands of the top four chasing Lusaka Dynamos.
Lusaka Dynamos started strong splitting the Nkana defense with diagonal passes but Emmanuel Chabula seemed to have left his scoring boots at home as he missed two one on one chances with Kelvin Malunga saving both times. Collins Sikombe also missed a clear one on one chance, Malunga again to the rescue making sure the match went to the break level at nil-nil.
Willy Stephanus produced a moment of magic with a well-taken free kick in the 62nd minute to put the visitors in the lead. The lead however did not last long as the Landlord, Ronald ‘Sate-Sate’ Kampamba leveled matters three minutes later.
Stephanus was again on hand to benefit from a defensive lapse and pounce on a loose ball in the 18-yard area, beating Malunga from close range to seal a 2-1 win for the Wedson Nyirenda drilled side.
The win takes Lusaka Dynamos to fifth place with 43 points just one adrift of fourth-placed Kabwe Warriors while Nkana remains in 17th place with 28 points, nine adrift of 14th placed Indeni.
In an early kick at the same venue, Youngster Jimmy ‘Zobrigo’ Mukeya put up a fantastic performance helping the Pensioners to a 4-3 win over Indeni.
Mukeya put NAPSA in the lead just after nine minutes heading in an Austin Banda low cross. He the 35th minute, Mukeya turned to provider as he set up Bornwell Mwape for NAPSA Stars’ second of the match. The Pensioners went to the break with a comfortable 2-0 lead.
The second half came back with a lot of drama as Indeni pulled one back just five minutes in through Cephas Handavu but Bornwell Mwape restored the Pensioners lead a minute later finishing off a Jimmy Mukeya pass.
Indeni then took over as Tiki Chiluba cut NAPSA’s lead to one goal in the 54th minute with a close-range finish before Graven Chitalu could level matters six minutes later.
Man of the match, Jimmy Mukeya however had the last say as he headed in a winner 16 minutes to time to boost NAPSA Stars’ chances of surviving relegation, The win takes them to 36 points and just a win away from moving out of the relegation zone.
Elsewhere, Junior Zulu scored the only goal of the game as Prison Leopards edged struggling Lumwana Radiants 1-0 at the President Stadium in Kabwe.
Sensational Zanaco’s poor away form continued as they needed a Moses Phiri equalizer to rescue a point against Green Buffaloes away at Nkoloma Stadium, 1-1 the match ended. Nicholas Mulilo put Buffaloes in the lead.
Green Eagles and Buildcon shared spoils in Choma. Anos Tembo put the hosts in the lead while Emmanuel Okutu leveled matters for Team Kopala.
MTN/FAZ Super League week 31| Full Time
Indeni FC 3-4 NAPSA Stars
(Cephas Handavu 50′, Tiki Chiluba 54′, Graven Chitalu 60’| Jimmy Mukeya 9′, 74′, Bornwell Mwape 35′, 51′)
Green Eagles 1-1 Buildcon
(Anos Tembo 13’| Emmanuel Okutu 49′)
Nkana 1-2 Lusaka Dynamos
(Ronald Kampamba 65′ | Willy Stephanus 62′,81′ )
Green Buffaloes 1-1 Zanaco
(Nicholas Mulilo 22’| Moses Phiri 50′)
Prison Leopards 1-0 Lumwana Radiants
(Junior Zulu 67′)
