By CHINOYI CHIPULU
NAPSA coach Mahamad Fathi is pondering unleashing Under-20 striker Jimmy Mukeya against Red Arrows on Saturday after seeing his strikers fire blanks in a defeat to Lumwana Radiants.
On Wednesday, Lumwana edged Napsa 1-0 in a Super Division rescheduled Week Seven encounter at Independence Stadium in Solwezi.
Fathi said in a post-match interview that going by what he saw against Lumwana, it will not be a bad idea to give Mukeya a run in the team to offer competition to experienced strikers.
“I think we will have to bring in Mukeya, he is young and fast. He can help these guys,” he said.
Mukeya, a Young Napsa Stars graduate netted twice during the Council for Southern Africa Football Association (COSAFA) Under-20 championship in South Africa in December.
The youngster contributed a brace in a 2-0 victory over Malawi.
Fathi bemoaned the numerous scoring opportunities the Pensioners missed in Solwezi.
“We didn’t take our chances and this is the result in football, if you don’t take your chances, anytime you can lose it.We controlled the game, Lumwana had one chance and converted it into a goal in the last five minutes,” he said.
He regretted the chances missed by substitute Emmanuel Mayuka and midfielder Simon Nkhata.
And Lumwana Coach Tenant Chembo has described the 1-0 win over Napsa as tough and is happy the hard work his team is putting in training is beginning to yield results.
“It was a tough game looking at how Napsa is playing, it was not easy,” he said.
He said consistency coupled with hard work and planning was key in ensuring their collected maximum points against Napsa.
Chembo has since shifted attention to Saturday’s match with Kitwe United.
