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Coach Tenant Chilumba’s return to ZESCO United began on a high note after his side defeated Zambia Premier League (ZPL) champions Power Dynamos 2-0 to clinch the 2025 Carling Black Label Samuel ‘Zoom’ Ndhlovu Charity Shield.
Chilumba, whose second stint at the club had been shrouded in mystery, expressed delight at the victory, which was secured by two academy graduates who scored on either side of the break at Levy Mwanawasa Stadium.
“It was a nice game, a good welcome,” said the ZESCO coach. “I think we did what we practised in pre-season, but there are still a few things to work on before the season starts.”
Read more: Zambian international midfielder, Kampamba, joins ZESCO United Football Club
He added that the match served as an eye-opener, especially since ZESCO had not played any pre-season friendlies, yet the players’ fitness was not far off the mark.
While ZESCO’s high-profile off-season signings struggled to make an impact, Zambia Under-20 stars David Simukonda and Pascal Phiri stole the show with clinical finishing.
Simukonda opened the scoring in the 34th minute, weaving past the Power defence before curling the ball beyond goalkeeper Lawrence Mulenga.
The champions pushed for an equaliser, but their hopes were dashed in stoppage time when Phiri latched onto an Alex Ngonga pass, controlled the ball, rounded Mulenga, and calmly slotted home.
Power Dynamos coach Osward Mutapa was blunt in his assessment.
“It is a bad result,” he said. “In the first half, we didn’t take control of the game. We went one way from defence up and didn’t play through the midfield like our usual style, where we build from the back into pockets of space.”
Mutapa, however, insisted his team was ready for the season, noting that the Charity Shield result did not reflect the work put in during pre-season, and pointing out the absence of eight key players.
In the women’s Charity Shield curtain-raiser, Green Buffaloes avenged last season’s title loss to ZESCO Ndola Girls with a thrilling 3-2 victory, ending the champions’ unbeaten run.
Zambia international Everine Katongo put Buffaloes ahead in the 6th minute, and Hellen Chanda doubled the lead six minutes later.
ZESCO Penelope Mulubwa pulled one back in the 17th minute, before Enelesi Phiri equalised on the stroke of halftime.
But Chanda struck again in the 57th minute to seal the win for Buffaloes.
Contributed By SAMUEL LUKHANDA
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