By MICHAEL MIYOBA
TN/FAZ Super Division defending champions Nkana FC up a spirited fight and came from behind twice to hold Green Buffaloes to a 2-2 stalemate in a league fixture played yesterday at Nkana Stadium in Kitwe.
Two second half goals from substitute Emmanuel Mwiinde and Ackim Mumba rescued the Kitwe giants from suffering a third consecutive defeat in the Super Division.
Nickolas Mulilo had given Buffaloes the lead with his trademark shot which left goal keeper Shumba in shock 11 minutes into the first half.
Nkana were nowhere near a team looking to end their five-match losing streak as they allowed Buffaloes to dictate play.
In the 13th minute, Mulilo could have doubled the advantage when he eluded the Nkana defence to be in a one-on-one situation with Shumba but the Zimbabwean keeper refused to be beaten this time around.
Nkana’s first attempt on goal came in the 17th minute when Harrison Chisala’s shot went wide.
Nkana suffered a setback in the 25th minute when striker Simon Mulenga was stretched out injured aftera a colliding with a Buffaloes’ defender and was replaced by Mwiinde as the first stanza ended 1-0 in favour of Buffaloes.
In the second half, Nkana were on the back foot as Buffaloes mounted pressure that almost resulted in defender Jimmy Dzingai scoring an own goal when his back pass hit the side net in the 51st minute.
Nkana almost got the equaliser in the 75th minute but were unlucky as Mwiinde’s cross hit the post before Obed Masumbuko’s follow up effort went wide.
Mwiinde finally got the needed equaliser for Nkana beating Shumba with a shot from inside the box after Ackim Mumba’s effort initially hit the post.
However, Buffaloes restored their lead three minutes later through Jackson Chirwa who scored from close range to make it 2-1.
Nkana punished Buffaloes for their lack of concentration at the back when Mumba scored a goal of the season contender in the 90th minute for the two sides to share the spoils.
The result left Buffaloes coach Justin Chinama regretting his players’ failure to hold on to their lead.
“It is a bad result for us, this is a game which we should have gotten maximum points. “We were leading on two occasions but we made silly mistakes at the back and allowed those two goals,” Chinama said after the final whistle at Nkana Stadium. Meanwhile, Nkana coach Kelvin Kaindu was happy with his team’s performance in the second half where they fought back to get a point
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