Zanaco Football Club lost 1-0 to Mutondo Stars FC in Week 16 of the Zambian Super League at Levy Mwanawasa Stadium on Sunday, dwindling their chances of qualifying for the ABSA Cup.

It was the second successive defeat for the Bankers following the 1-2 home defeat they suffered to the Red Arrows in Week 15.

However, reacting to Sunday’s result, Zanaco’s assistant coach, Henry Banda, said the team started the contest on the back foot as they did not create meaningful chances in the first half.

“It’s a very disappointing game; we lost, especially in the first half,” Banda said. “We planned to get one or two goals in the first half, but we didn’t do that because we started slow. We didn’t even have a shot in the first half.”

Banda said the Bankers were aware of their opponents and needed to do more to get a win.

“We know that when you are playing against Mutondo, they are a youthful team with good endurance. But We didn’t do enough in attack, we came back strong in the second half. We created a lot of chances and missed scoring opportunities,” he noted.

Banda not giving up on ABSA Cup qualification

Banda is still optimistic that the team will qualify for the 2024 Absa Cup if they can beat Nkana in their next match.

“We just need to encourage the players and focus on the Nkana match. Then we need to win and see what happens,” Banda stated. 

“We just have to rectify the mistakes that we have and get three points against Nkana.”

With the defeat on Sunday afternoon, Zanaco is currently in 10th position with 22 points, 3 points off the top six.

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The Bankers will now face struggling Nkana FC, but a win will not guarantee qualification for the Absa Cup as it will be dependent on the results from other matches.