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Chisi Mbewe is confident that defending COSAFA Cup champions, 10-a-side Zambia, will bounce back from Thursday’s tough defeat to Kenya.
Two first-half goals, one of which was a penalty, were enough to frustrate Chiporo Polo early on the first day of the tournament, as Kenya eventually won Group B with a 2-0 victory over Chiporo Polo at Nelson Mandela Bay in South Africa.
The defeat leaves Zambia at the bottom of Group B, while Kenya is level on three points with Zimbabwe on goal difference, having beaten third-placed Comoros 1-0.
“I think we have a chance of qualifying. The most important thing is that we don’t have to be discouraged by the defeat. We need to stay strong in the next game and make sure our dream of defending the title comes true,” said Mbewe.
In the 9th minute of the match, Kenya took the lead thanks to Chitoshi Chinga’s penalty kick (shot by Austine Atieno).
Patrick Otieno then scored the second goal in the 19th minute by beating defender Brian Chilimina.
Kenya then looked comfortable with some mild Zambian pressure, piling intense pressure on the defending champions, but not before Kelvin Kapumbu was shown a second yellow card in the final minutes of the second half.
“If you saw the way we played, it wasn’t a bad performance, we tried our best, but that’s how football works sometimes,” Mbewe said.
“So the most important thing is that we must rise as quickly as possible.
“We should not let this defeat destroy our ambitions to defend our title.”
Things are only going to get tougher for Zambia, who must beat their COSAFA rivals and arch-rivals Zimbabwe in their penultimate Group B match on Sunday or their hopes of reaching the semi-finals will be over.
Only the three group winners and the best overall second-place team in the 12-team championship meet qualify for the semifinals.
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