Nchanga Rangers assistant coach Israel Mwanza has blamed goalkeeper Victor Chabu for their 2-0 loss to Power Dynamos in the ABSA Cup quarterfinal on Sunday.
Rangers conceded an early goal 14 minutes into the game through Moses Shumah, who tapped home a cross from Fredrick Mulambia inside the penalty box, leaving Chabu standing still and helpless.
In the 75th minute, Prince Mumba’s cross found Dominic Chanda, who rose high to head home the second goal and seal victory for his side.
Following the second goal, Chabu was substituted and replaced by John Mutale.
After the game, Mwanza claimed Chabu was the reason the team lost, which is why they substituted him.
“If you saw that game, the first goal was an error by the goalkeeper. He didn’t come out, and they scored. Second goal again; it’s the same mistake from the goalkeeper. Same error, they scored. So what do you do? you have to change,” Mwanza responded to a question on why they substituted Chabu.
He added that the team played well and would not have lost if not for Chabu, “I mean, we played very well if you saw that game. We played very, very well. But if you saw those goals, whom do you blame?”
However, Power Dynamos assistant coach Linos Makwaza defended Chabu, saying even the best goalkeepers in the world would have conceded those goals.
“I think the goalkeeper for Nchanga is a very good goalkeeper. Those goals he let in this afternoon, even the best goalkeeper can’t do well. He did very well. He’s not a bad goalkeeper.”
Rangers have now lost four consecutive games across all competitions and will now focus on securing a decent finish in the league, where they sit fourth with 43 points, 18 points behind leaders Power Dynamos.
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