By Mubukwanu Kaingu
Red Arrows coach Chisi Mbewe has saluted veteran striker James Chamanga for inspiring them to victory in Wednesday evening’s opening day win over Gor Mahia at the 2024 CECAFA Club Cup in Tanzania.
The defending FAZ Super League champions beat the Kenyan giants 1-0 in their opening Group B fixture in Dar es Salaam.
Arrows are a guest team at the annual East African club championship which Tanzania is hosting from July 9 to 21.
Chamanga came on at the start of the second half when the 44-year-old veteran replaced Kanda Mbuyi to score the game’s only goal in the 76th minute.
This is Chamanga’s fifth season with Arrows where he won the 2019/2020 FAZ Golden Boot with 16 goals when he joined them in that campaign following a decade overseas and later won two league titles with the three-time Zambia champions.
Mbewe said in a post-match interview that it was a boost to start their campaign on a promising note.
“At the break, we saw where we were lagging. I think our striker did not give us a lot of runs upfront and that’s how we decided to bring on the big man ‘Djemba’ (Chamanga),” said Mbewe.
“I think he brought a lot of life into the team and I would say that he solved the puzzle for us where we were lagging and that’s how he even managed to score the goal.”
The result put Arrows second in Group B tied on 3 points with leaders Al Hilal of Sudan who beat Sabeih of Djibouti 2-0 in the earlier kickoff on Wednesday.
Arrows face Al Hilal on Saturday in their penultimate Group B match that could put the winner one foot into the semifinals.
“Otherwise, tough game for us but a sweet victory and a good start for us in this tournament.”
