Zambia beat South Africa in friendly
THE Zambia national soccer team redeemed itself from the 2-1 defeat to Kenya by coming from behind to beat B afana Bafana of South Africa 2-1 in a yesterday’s friendly match at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium in Rustenburg.
Two second half goals fr om super sub Mubanga Kampamba and Chaniza Zulu gave the Chipolopolo the much needed victory against their r egional rivals.
Kampamba who had assisted in Zambia’s two goals against Malawi and Kenya cancelled Keagan Dolly’s 65th minute goal which had giv en Bafana Bafana the lead in the second half.
With 10 minutes befor e the final whistle , Chaniza Z ulu taped in Gampani Lungu’s shot from inside the 18-yard to give Zambia the victory in their third friendly fixture played in the last five days.
An ex cited Chipolopolo coach Milutin “Micho” Sredojevic described the victory as an important win which giv es Zambia the needed confidence as they prepare for both AFCON qualifiers and the CHAN tournament to be held in Cameroon next year.
Unlike in the last two games against Malawi and Kenya, Zambia began the game against South Africa on a promising not despite the home team having dominated ball possession with mid fielder P ercy Tau forcing goal keeper Sebastian Mwange to produce a superb save from a free kick outside the 18-yard. In the second half, “Micho” introduced Leonar d Mulenga for Collins Sikombe while Emmanuel Chabula came in for Lubambo Musonda. “Micho” also brought in Mubanga Kampamba while Gamphani Lungu came in for Evans Kangwa. Before the subs could settle, South Afr ica went ahead through Dolly who benefitted from Percy Tau’s defence splitting pass befor e going past Mwango to put the goal in an empty net.
Zambia, however redeemed themselves through Kampamba who scored the equaliser after benefitting fr om Chabulas’s assists in the 77th minute while Zulu scored the winner three minutes later to humiliate Bafana Bafana at their home ground.
Zambia’s next fixtur es will be against South African giants Orlando Pirates and Sundown’s in two friendly matches for the local players as the foreign stars are expected to r eturn to their respective bases today.