River Plate rekindled their hopes of qualifying for National Division One in Group B of the Playoffs with a spirited performance against National Assembly on Tuesday.
The Southern Province champions defeated Assembly 2-1 at Nationalist Stadium in Lusaka on Tuesday afternoon to earn all three points after losing 2-1 to Roan United on the first day of the Playoffs.
Their head coach, Nowell Phiri, revealed that his team was aware of the Parliamentarians’ experience and thus resorted to counterattacks.
Phiri said the game plan was to close down Assembly and leave no room for them to play.
“Looking at our opponents it’s not a small name in Zambian football, so they had experienced players,” said Phiri
“Our game plan was to close them up, not give them chance to play. We used counterattacks to get the goals.”
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The gaffer said it was an important win because it has kept them in contention for a slot in National Division One next season.
“This game was very important for us because we wanted to come into the competition. Now we are in competition,” he said. “we just have to plan well and encourage the boys to continue with what they are doing.”
River Plate FC’s next match will be on Thursday against Mwaimwena Strikers.
Phiri has described his team’s next match as difficult but is confident his boys will rise to the occasion.
