Zambia: Red Arrows played host to Kabwe Warriors at Nkoloma Stadium in a week 14 encounter. A win for either side would have seen them go second on the log, standing behind Zesco United.
The match got underway in surprisingly hot conditions in Lusaka after a few days of rain, with the hosts making three changes to the side, which lost to Kansanshi Dynamos in week 13.
Both teams were sizing each other in the early stages of the game and the visitors had the fight sight at goal but failed to make it count in the 18′.
Samuel Onyango thought he had put the visitors in front but was ruled out for offside, and it was all but a cagey affair in the first half.
The second half saw both coaches make changes to their starting 11; for Red Arrows, Ricky Banda was rested for James Chamanga while the visitor introduced Junior Kimaluwa for Mwamba Mutombo to try and add spicy to the game.
Chisi Mbewe looked to his bench to change the game and introduced Ackim Mumba for Ceil Ebengo and Edward Mwenya for Alassane Diarra. The subs changed the tempo, and it was Edward Mwenya who went close in the 65′ but saw his effort go inches wide.
Ackim Mumba recorded his first goal of the season in the 80′ with a speculative cross, putting the hosts in the driving seat with 10′ to go in a game that had few chances.
Drama then came to play when Kabwe Warriors capitalized from a set piece in the 82′ through killian Kanguluma, who freely made a run and jumped unchallenged to see both sides share the spoils in the end.
Speaking after the match, Red Arrows Coach Chisi Mbewe was left frustrated by his side’s failure to hold a late lead.
He said, “A disappointing result, though, against a tough Kabwe Warriors. I think this is a game we would have maximized the points after scoring in the dying minutes of the game but we allowed Kabwe Warriors to come back. I think our overall performance was not our usual game. We struggled a bit in possession and did not defend so well.”
With the draw, Arrows climbed the table with a point and from fourth to third on 23 points. They will now focus on the next fixture with a short trip to Sunset against the bankers, who equally were held to a one all draw by the Green Eagles.
The Arrows vs Kabwe Warriors match report.