By KALUMIANA KALUMIANA,  SHAMAOMA MUSONDA, SANDRA MWILA  and JIM FIKOLOMA  –
ZESCO United coach George ‘Chicken’ Lwandamina has expressed happiness with his side’s fourth straight win that saw the Ndola side go top of the table with 20 points after the MTN-FAZ Super League Week Nine games.

. Lwandamina

Lwandamina praised his players for adopting a winning mentality that saw them open up a two-point lead over Zanaco who were held to a 1-all draw at Nkana.
Speaking after his 10-man side dug deep into their reserves to defeat National Assembly 1-0 at Woodlands Stadium, Lwandamina said it was a coach’s joy to see players switch into a winning mode and fighting to win.
“The guys have adopted what I can call a winning mentality. It is very pleasing to a coach to see his players adopt a winning mind because this allows them to overcome challenges,” Lwandamina said.
Lwandamina, however, refused to let the top position get to his or the players’ heads stating that it was too early in the season and a team’s performance can only be judged at the end of the year.
His opposite number George Kapembwa was magnanimous in defeat, saying his charges played better, attacked more but were punished for their defensive mistake.
“I am happy with the performance of my boys, as you can see. This is a young side and not the same players that played last year. They pressed well and high. When you play such big clubs, they wait for you to make a mistake and they punish you and that’s what happened today (Saturday),” he said.
National Assembly, after impressing conceded in added time of the first half after a pin-ball situation in the box ended in Jackson Mwanza stabbing home a deflected shot that sent Assembly goalie Isaac Chilanga the wrong way.
Meanwhile, Zanaco coach Numba Mumamba says he is disappointed with his side’s draw against Nkana. Mumamba said the bankers conceded an unnecessary penalty to hand Nkana a fortunate point on Saturday.
Nkana stole a last minute penalty after defender Dominic Yobe tripped Shadreck Musonda who stood up to send Zanaco goalkeeper Allan Chibwe the wrong way to see the two sides  finish 1-1 at Nkana Stadium in Kitwe.
This is after Boyd Musonda had given Zanaco the lead in the 36th minute. The result saw Zanaco remain winless away at Nkana since 2012 and also surrendered top spot to Zesco, exchanging places to drop to second spot.
“I think we have just given them a goal but I must say that it was a clear penalty I can’t dispute that. It is our making that we have allowed Nkana to get a point, otherwise it was a game we could have collected three points off,” he said.
Numba has demanded that his charges recover from the setback on Wednesday when they host ‘Mighty’ Mufulira Wanderers at Sunset Stadium in Lusaka in a rescheduled Week 8 match.
Nkana coach Beston Chambeshi said Zanaco gave them a tough run for the draw.
“If you look at the way Zanaco are playing they are not a pushover they have quality in the team. I am happy with the way we have been played against Zanaco and hope to take the three points in the return leg against them.”
Red Arrows coach Albert Kachinga has described the win over Forest Rangers as a sweet victory.
“The win for us is a sweet victory considering the fact that we have not won a game in the previous three games. The win has definitely improved our standing on the league table, we shall continue working hard and remain focused for upcoming games,” he said.
From Mazabuka, Nakambala Leopards coach Dick Ngwenya said he has no intentions of ditching the club despite the poor results which have seen his side record a streak of six consecutive losses to be bottom of the table with three points.
Ngwenya said he was instituting all the permutations available to come up with a winning team and that he had quality players capable of delivering desired results.
The coach, who remained rooted to the ground for several minutes after the final whistle, watched in disbelief as his players walked out of the pitch with their heads down after Green Buffaloes inflicted a 1-0 defeat on his side.
“Kuti wapona nokufwa ama results aya ifi. (One may collapse and die with such results),” said Ngwenya in a bemba in a post match interview.
Nakambala Leopards chairperson Lloyd Mwale pleaded with supporters to remain calm and rally behind the club.