Nkana Football Club moved to the top of the Zambian Super League standings following a comprehensive 3-0 victory over ZANACO at the Nkana Stadium on Wednesday.
Nkana moved above Forest Rangers at the top of the table, ahead on goal-difference though having played a game more.
It was a poor return to play for Zanaco, who had seen their scheduled fixture with Rangers postponed at the weekend, when they could have done with a run-out to help with the rustiness caused by four months on the sidelines due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
After a cagey opening half-hour, the first strike in anger came from Kelvin Kampamba, whose excellent free-kick was tipped over the crossbar by Zanaco goalkeeper Toaster Nsabata and the teams went into halftime at nil-nil.
It took just a minute after the halftime break for Chrispine Mulenga to give Nkana the lead with a neat finish.
Two minutes later they doubled their advantage through Kampamba, who tapped in a pass from Idris Mbombo.
Mbombo turned from provider to scorer in the last 10 minutes with a coolly taken finish from a quick counter attack.
It proved a knockout blow for Zanaco, who were rocked by the double-strike, though Peter Banda saw his shot come back off the post as the visitors tried to claw their way back into the game.
Meanwhile, Wednesday’s other scheduled match did not take place when Nakambala Leopards did not travel to meet Buildcon in Ndola.
Nkana lead the Super League on goal-difference with 46 points from 25 games, followed by Forest Rangers with 46 from 24 games.
