At the ongoing COSAFA | CAF Women’s Champions League championship, Zesco Ndola Girls head coach William Zulu was left frustrated after his side conceded three late goals despite holding a commanding 5-0 lead against Malawi’s Ntopwa FC on Tuesday.

In a four-team Group A, the Zambian champions have defeated Ntopwa and Beauties FC and lost to Mamelodi Sundowns. They will now wait for the group stage to conclude on Wednesday to find out their fate.

Speaking after the match, Zulu did not hide his disappointment with how his players switched off in the final stages.

“I’m very much upset. I’m not happy. We were leading comfortably, then they started coming. We lost concentration and started conceding easy goals. That was not supposed to be like that. My girls lost concentration in the last minutes, whereby they couldn’t even contain those goals,” he said.

Zulu clarified that rotating players was a component of his strategy for the tournament because the team would have a backlog of games after they returned home.

“We wanted to use this tournament to use all the players because where we are going, we have a backlog of games. Suppose we go home, where are we going to start from? So we wanted to use all the players so that everyone should have that feel of the game. When we go there, everyone can play,” he explained.

“That Is The Lesson” – Zulu.

The coach admitted that his team underestimated their opponents after racing into a big lead.

“We underrated this team after scoring five goals. We started dancing, which is not supposed to be like that. If we are not careful, teams can come back and beat us. That is the lesson,” he said.

Zulu stressed that the bigger target remains defending their domestic championship back home but said the team must improve their mentality.

“Our goal was to go to CAF and from there defend the championship. So we don’t know if we are staying; we just have to work hard. I just have to push the girls—it’s not yet over. We have to go there, push them, and see how far we’ll go,” he said.

Despite the late collapse, Zulu praised the level of competition at the tournament.

“The tournament is so organized and competitive. That’s why I always say there are no small teams. Even in countries where there is no league, they know how to kick the ball; they are good sides,” he observed.
To the disappointed fans, Zulu had one message:

“I know they are disappointed, but I ask them to keep on supporting us. We are still here, and unless otherwise, we will fight until the last,” he said.

READ ALSO: Fathi Explains Why Power Dynamos And Zesco United Will Struggle In CAF Football.