By Mubukwanu Kaingu
The battle for survival continues says Nkana assistant coach Sipho Mumbi after the relegation-battlling giants beat Mighty Mufulira Wanderers on Saturday to extend their unbeaten run to four successive league games.
Nkana rallied from one-down to score two first-half goals at home to defeat Mighty 2-1 at Nkana Stadium in Kitwe.
That victory saw Nkana swim away from the trap door of the bottom four relegation zone from 14th spot to the near-comfort of 11th position.
Mumbi said in a post-match interview at Nkana Stadium that the bench was happy to go four successive games without a defeat for the first time this season as Nkana battles to avoid relegation for the first time since they returned to the FAZ Super League in 2010.
“I don’t think we are safe. We still need to continue pushing. As a team, we are focused on ourselves, we are not focused on other teams and we are going to take it one game at a time,” Mumbi said.
“There is no time to relax at all, next week we are playing NAPSA Stars which is not going to be an easy game but we will go there with the mentality to win. The worst case scenario there will be a draw.”
The victory was a good treat for the home fans who witnessed their first win at Nkana Stadium since Nkana drew 1-1 there against Forest Rangers on February 24 when doors were open for spectators after a half-a-season closed-door ban.
“This is a big morale booster to the boys and we are also dedicating the win to our supporters who came in large numbers to support the team,” Mumbi said.
“They have been yearning for such results now that it has come in the second time for them to watch the game at home so it is a big win for them.”
Mighty started the match brightly when Tresor Ilunga put Wanderers ahead in the 5th minute in a match the visitors dominated heading into the 20th-minute mark.
But Nkana gradually gained ground and equalised in the 31st minute through Idris Mbombo who tapped-in a Mathews Banda’s throw-in to score his first goal since rejoining the record 13-time Zambia champions in January.
The second goal came in the 39th minute from Jacob Ngulube who also benefited from another Banda throw-in that he turned to see Nkana record their second successive league victory and see them pick up three wins and a draw in their last four matches.
Nkana have 29 points, four points more than Kansanshi Dynamos who occupy the top half of the relegation zone.
Mighty are 9th after suffering their first league loss in five games and are a point ahead of Nkana after 24 games played with 10 to go.
