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Zesco United win their sixth Super League title in extraordinary circumstances
What a season!
The Super League entered a new phase for the first time with four teams chasing the title on the last day and, even after decades of success, expansion and entertainment, no one would have predicted the sensational climax that would unfold when the helicopter finally landed at Levy Mwanawasa Stadium to hand over the title to Zesco United.
Jesse Were sent Levy Mwanawasa Stadium into ecstasy after capturing Zesco United’s sixth Super League title with a brace against Mufulira Wanderers who consequently got relegated on the last day.
It was a fitting end to a captivating campaign – voted as the best ever in the Super League Seasons by most of the followers of the Zambian game.
Summary
Champions – Zesco United
Top goal scorer 20 – Chris Mugalu (Lusaka Dynamos)
Most goals 57 – Zanaco
Best Defense 26 – Green Buffaloes
Player of the Season- Augustine Mulenga (Zanaco)
Coach of the Season- Bestone Chambeshi (Nkana)
Relegated Teams
Mufulira Wanderers
Real Nakonde
Konkola Blades
City of Lusaka
The title Hunt
Both Zesco United and rivals Zanaco were neck to neck throughout the season but perhaps a lot of respect should be given to Numba Mumamba with an almost depleted team, managed to push everyone till the last day.
And surprisingly towards the end of the season Green Buffaloes were in dream land and could have won the title had Zesco United and Zanaco slipped. They will be disappointed that they ended the season fourth when before kick off , they could have been winners of the title.
There was also Nkana in the equation, though pundits will say they never saw the Kitwe outfits anywhere near fighting for the title, especially after that home defeat to Lusaka Dynamos. I still think that away victory to Power Dynamos with a Walter Bwalya goal after a superb play from Ronald Kampamba was the turn around and after that, Nkana meant business.
A series of other new arrivals also made their impact in the early stages. Chris Mugalu was the revelation of the 2017 season and Lusaka Dynamos looked ordinary without their talisman. You would actually look again at the league table and ask yourself why Lusaka Dynamos is not in the top four.
The Lusaka team brought a different dimension in the game and they were a marvel to watch. A replica of such football with better consistent in the 2018 season would be right to call Lusaka Dynamos serious contenders.
But then
It was Tenant Chembo’s Zesco United’s side who grabbed the initiative in the title race, though, dropping points to teams were they were expected to pick maximum points like Red Arrows at home, Chembo managed to keep the momentum going and it paid off.
The first loss of Zesco United was on 6th May against Napsa Stars and the team didn’t look like they would end up champions, that game was followed by GBFC at home were they went 2-0 down at home before rallying from behind to grab a point. They were back on track when they beat City of Lusaka 1-0 through a Jesse Were goal.
Zesco counts six losses the entire season at the hands of Forest Rangers, Nkana, Lumwana Radiants, Lusaka Dynamos, Zanaco and Napsa Stars.
Best Goal of the Season
Away from the gripping race at the top, the season was a record-breaking one in many aspects. A record of 762 goals kept the fans trouping to the stadiums to watch more classic goals. Without evidence of most games not shown on supersport, the general understanding of feeling of Zambian fans look at Fackson Kapumbu’s goal against Napsa Stars at Levy Mwanawasa stadium as the best goal of the season.
That was a great goal.
Best Coach of the Season
Nkana coach Bestone Chambeshi won the Coach of the Season after guiding his side to a third-place finish. Nkana secured CAF football thanks to a run of wins from eight matches at the tail-end of the season. Nkana was phenomenal.
Much of that success was down to the form of Ronald Kampamba, with the improving Shadreck Musonda alongside Walter Bwalya.
Apanene Diego was another revelation for Nkana from the back but that own goal in Choma will continue giving him a bad season thought.
A relief to Bestone Chambeshi who had left the club unceremoniously a couple of seasons back and to bring the joy back to Nkana Stadium will mean a lot to himself and the Nkana faithful.
Well deserved award!
Buildcon Influence
The season was also a successful for newly promoted Buildcon, the only side that managed to stay up from the four that were promoted. This equals the great work done by Moses Mubanga at the helm of the Kopala team. No team in the history of the super league has been promoted to the super league with such high ambition. Top four was a bridge too far but they were not far from that dream.
They finished 9th only 15 points from the top four and a team coming from division one, that is one of the success stories of the 2017 season.
Buildcon has learnt the trade and count them in as serious contenders in 2018 and already they seem to be one of the teams that is already far apart in preparation of the 2018 season.
Keep an eye on Buildcon, they will be a team to reckon with!
Relegation
It was a big escape for Kabwe Warriors who had a mini league with Nchanga Rangers and Mufulira Wanderers for most period of the season. Wanderers were the losers of that mini league and joined Blades, Real Nakonde and City of Lusaka who will be playing Division One in 2018.
While the title Hunt was intriguing, the relegation battle was breathtaking, week in week out. When Mufulira Wanderers lost the game at Nchanga in week 36, the curtains were clear that the most successful club in the history of Zambian was going down especially with the last two games at home to Nkana and away to Zesco United.
Its another journey back to the zones were they spent nine years before their return in 2015.
Mufulira Wanderers will bounce back!
Own Analysis
From where am analyzing the season, I fail to find a season that could compete with the 2017 episode. It was the most successful and intriguing one for me.
That’s a debate that fans of the modern football era will have with those that have studied the successful regimes of the football season’s past. Unfortunately, there’s such a large gap between those eras that a comparison is probably futile.
Am going for this one.
Bwezani and Soka25east sign out and we commit to bring you more stories of the Zambian game from each angle. This was a great year and congratulations to winners……
