Prison Leopards head coach Lameck Banda has stated that the referee’s decision not to reward his side with a free kick against Red Arrows cost the Kabwe side the match on Saturday.
The Leopards recorded a 2-0 defeat against the Arrows at Nkoloma Stadium in Lusaka.
It was the 12th defeat for the Prison Leopards, who are sitting in 17th place with 22 points from 24 matches with 5 wins and 7 draws.
Banda conceded that it was a terrible loss for the team, which is fighting relegation, but felt the linesman did not help the center referee not to award them a freekick.
“It’s a terrible loss considering that we are fighting relegation and we lose in that manner. I think there was a free kick that we were supposed to have been given,” Banda stated.
“The first assistant didn’t help the referee because the referee was facing the other way, and the goalkeeper made the mistake that would result in the freekick, but he didn’t give that, which was the same movement that led to us conceding.”
“We missed a lot of chances”- Banda
The former FC MUZA coach was also not happy with his team for missing so many chances.
“We had chances, like in the first half, which we could have buried. We were not composed; we were always in a hurry,” he stated.
“The chances are still there; we just need to work on a few things that we are not doing correctly, so that in the next game we are able to do well,” added Banda.
Prison Leopards have struggled for form this season, with their last win coming in the match against Trident Football Club.
With a goal difference of negative 11, Banda’s side needs at least two consecutive wins to stand a better chance of moving out of the relegation zone, whereas Mutondo Stars and Kansanshi Dynamos do not win in their next two mixtures.
The Zambia Correctional Service-sponsored side will now turn their focus to next Saturday’s match against Mutondo Stars, who recorded a 3-0 win over Napsa Stars at Levy Mwanawasa Stadium in Ndola on Sunday afternoon.
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