ZESCO UNITED – The Pride of Ndola

Five lessons learned – including a few positives – from Zesco United’s CAF Champions League exit at the hands of TP Mazembe

Zesco United were knocked out from the CAF Champions League by TP Mazembe after they were defeated 2-1 on aggregate. The consequence is that the Zambian champions are now in the CAF Confederation Cup.
Another round of mistakes at the back proved costly for Zesco United in that defeat and we learned a number of things from the match.

1. The defence deserves all the blame
   Whenever the topic of Zambia’s best defence arise, Zesco United’s name always pops up. Zesco United fans always take their defence as the best and it has been for a long time .

But in the TP Mazembe encounter, it showed again that Odiambo is always key and if he is missing , Zesco needs to play without him.
These are the kind of mistakes that differentiate a world-class defence pair and an ordinary one. The Super League often see matches won by the brilliance of defences and it can have the same impact in the CAF Competition.

This defence needs to prove and redeem themselves . If they do not improve their play and their attitude, then Zesco United will again fail to make it to the group Stage of the second tier of CAF club competition.

NEXT: 2. Jesse Were failed to make an impact

This was his stage. A big Champions League knockout match against a mighty opponent. It was the perfect time for him to show why he deserves to be in the Africa’s best bracket. But he failed to achieve that. Jesse did not play poor by any means, but he failed to run the show. The Kenyan was unwilling to take the reins the way he would in the past. He was trying to flick when it was unnecessary, was not shooting when it was necessary, and ultimately delivered a forgettable performance.

Jesse with his experience should have been the best player on the ground, let alone among Zesco United. United had at least two players who were definitely better than him. The player of his quality should have been the standout performer in a match of that magnitude.

Big players steps up when the situation demands. The likes of Idris, Chris Mugalu, Walter Bwalya and Lazarous Kambole step up when the situation calls for the big moments on the big stage. Jesse Were was not in their class in that encounter.

Jesse is world-class, there is no other opinion about that. But he must step up when the situation calls out for him.

NEXT: 3. Lazarous Kambole and Enock Sabamukanwa rising up to the occasion

To be continued……