By GWEN CHIPASULA –

ALBERT Kachinga has said failure by the Shepolopolo to utilise scoring opportunities contributed to failure to qualify for the Congo Brazzaville 2015 All-Africa Games (AAG) finals.

• SHEPOLOPOLO captain, Meya Banda (right) tries to block Mwanahamisi Shurua of Tanzania during the 2015 All-Africa Games qualifier at the National Stadium in Dar-es-Salaam on Friday. Zambia won 3-2 but bowed out on a 5-6 aggregate. Picture by DAILY NEWS TANZANIA.

The Shepolopolo stunned Tanzania 3-2 at the National Stadium in Dar-Es-Salaam on Friday but the hosts, Twiga Stars, progressed to the September finals after claiming a 6-5 aggregate win.
Kachinga said it would have been a different story had Zambia made use of the many scoring opportunities created in the two legs.
He commended the team for putting up a spirited fight but that the Tanzanians had already won the match in Lusaka.
“It is painful and disappointing to go out to a team which we have beaten on several occasions. It is sad that they [Tanzania] have qualified for the finals of the All-Africa Games at the expense of Zambia,” he said.
Zambia last year eliminated Tanzania to qualify for the TN Mobile 2014 Africa Women Championship (AWC) held in Namibia.
“Anyway that is the name of the game, it has three results and you need to accept whichever comes your way,” he said.
Kachinga said he had a squad of new players who failed to play at the international while Tanzania had maintained the bulk of those that played in the AWC qualifiers.
The Shepolopolo returns to action next month in a quest for a place at the Rio 2015 Olympic Games in Brazil.
Zambia will in the first round play Zimbabwe in May with the winner of that two-leg fixture set to meet the winner between Ivory Coast and Tunisia who also play the second round.
Should the Shepolopolo also make it passed this second round, they go into third and last round where they meet a team that will have made it through from the other side of the draws that include among others Cameroon, Egypt and Ghana.
Meanwhile, Zambia Sports Fans Association (ZASPOFA) strongman Peter Makembo said the girls were not to blame for their loss and subsequent elimination as it was due to administrative flaws.
“Some people decided to leave the first team players that qualified Zambia to the Africa Women Championship simply because the girls voiced out their complaints. Those were the prominent players and there was no reason to punish them by picking a new team,” he said.
Makembo said the people who are in charge of selecting the teams to represent Zambia should not use pride but put the country’s interest first because at the end of the day, it is a national duty.
Chipolopolo Soccer Fans Association (CSFA) chairperson Yotam Mwanza said it was a bitter pill to swallow especially that the girls lost fought hard and won away but still failed to qualify.
He said there was no doubt that the girls lacked experience because it is a new team thrown into battle and quickly appealed to FAZ to keep them so that they can gain the needed experience.