Forest Rangers head coach Mwenya Chipepo has attributed the team’s dismal performance in the 2023–24 Super League to a lack of quality strikers at the club.
The Ndola-based team suffered a 1-0 defeat to Green Buffaloes and will go into the last match of the season against Kansanshi Dynamos in search of nothing less than a point to remain in the Zambian Super League.
Chipepo said the team has no strikers to convert chances that have been created throughout the season.
He adds that the team has been relying on Quadri Kola, a winger, to score goals for them.
“We are not converting. We don’t have good strikers at the moment,” Chipepo stated.
“You see, it has been a problem with us since the first round; this is a big problem, and we need to make sure that we at least find quality strikers.”
‘We were very careless’- Chipepo
The 2022/23 Zambia Super League winner was disappointed that Fole Malembe allowed Green Buffaloes to score in the dying minutes of the match.
He blamed the defense for failing to follow instructions until the final whistle.
“I’m very disappointed. We came here to make sure that we pick three points or a draw. It was going to make sense. But if you look at the way they scored in the second half, I think it’s four minutes to go. We were very careless at the back because we gave them instructions, and only one lap made them score,” Chipepo said.
The win over Forest Rangers assured Green Buffaloes of Super League football next season, while Prison Leopards and Kansanshi Dynamos hopes were squashed as they were relegated to the National Division One League.
Chipepo is counting on the next match to survive the drop.
“We’ll be playing at home. We just have to work hard. There’s nothing we can do. We can’t afford to lose at home. This is a golden chance. It will give us an advantage,” he said.
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