KCCA made it easy for us - Mwale

By Swalley Kenyi

NKANA Red Devils coach Masauso Mwale has said KCCA FC have only themselves to blame for their fall out for lack of confidence and impatience in the CAF Champions League on Saturday.

KCCA succumbed to the 2-1 defeat at Mandela National Stadium for Nkana to progress 4-3 on aggregate after the first leg ended in a 2-2 draw.

In an interview with New Vision Sport after the match, Mwale scornfully said that he expected a tougher match than they engaged in.

“I know KCCA is a good team and I expected a tough match which we did not get from them. We had the room to exploit their weakness comfortably,” Mwale said.

“Their (KCCA) defense was sluggish, the left wing was not as troublesome as it was in the first leg (in 2-2 draw Kitwe, Zambia) and their players were not patient. They pushed all out and yet they physically tire easily.”

Mwale went into the game plotting on how to nullify Brian Majwega’s crosses but he confessed his joy on seeing arguably KCCA’s fastest player tied to the left back most of the time rendering him ineffective.

About the KCCA defense, Mwale said that he found central defender Fahad Kawooya and veteran Richard Malinga slow enough for his players to exploit. 

Curiously, it was Kawooya who lost possession for Claude Bwalya to score Nkana’s first goal in the 29th minute.

KCCA fought back and equalised in the 49th minute when Brian Majwega curled in a free-kick past Nkana’s goalkeeper Charles Mweemba after Tony Odur was felled on the edge of the box. 

Christopher Munthali later tapped in a rebound past Salim Jamal to restore the visitors, another lead in the 58thminute after the KCCA goalkeeper had thwarted the initial shot.

Before the goals, Odur who had scored in KCC’s previous three fixtures in the competition and Michael Mirungi, missed clear cut chances early in the game.

Nkana play Zamalek of Egypt in the second round of the Champions League and coach Masauso Mwale insists that the win over KCCA is good motivator for them to revive their mission in the competition.

“Zamalek is a good team but we have a mission. Our mission is to win the Champions League and this win is a good move for us,” Mwale said.