Konkola Blades registered a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Nkwazi FC in a Week 5 MTN Super League fixture played on Saturday at Edwin Imboela Stadium in Lusaka.

Speaking in his post-match interview, head coach, Bestone Chambeshi expressed satisfaction with the way his players executed the game plan and secured all three points away from home.

“I’m happy with the way the boys reacted. I think they played according to our instructions. We agreed as a team we have to take maximum points away from home. And the character they have shown, at least there’s a team coming up on the map for the results today,” he said.

While pleased with the win, he acknowledged the need for improvement in front of the goal.

“Yes, I think it’s an outcry—even at the national level—scoring, scoring, scoring. But once you score, if you protect that goal, it doesn’t matter. But yes, we need to improve on scoring,” he noted.

The coach revealed that shutting down Nkwazi’s long-ball strategy was key to their success.

“I know Nkwazi has been using those long balls. So I told the boys to actually try to block those long balls. And it was good—the placing, excellent. Overall, I’m happy because football is about getting points. Three points away from home is a plus for the team,” he said.

In a leadership decision, goalkeeper David Mumba captained the side for the match. The coach explained.

“The captain was the goalkeeper, David Mumba. Kampungu is the leader, whether he has the armband or not. But I had to bring in Konkola. These guys have to feel that leadership. It was good to hand over the armband to the goalkeeper. Otherwise, we are moving on and trying to find who can lead the team. Now it’s the goalkeeper who is in charge.”

Looking ahead, the coach is already focused on their next challenge against Nkana FC.

“It’s always good to play big teams like Nkana. As of now, we have to respect them, and they have to respect us too. We are in the Premier League, and we have to make sure we play well. We are playing at home, and we have to start picking points at home also,” he said.