It could have been worse

The nation's morale would have sunk to its lowest levels had Nigeria scored the penalty and went on to win last night's match against the African Champions - Zambia.

In the game against the Nigerians, the Chipolopolo looked short of the form that helped them win the Africa Cup trophy for the first time in their history. A bad Mbombela pitch in Nelspruit contributed to the lack of precision but it could not be entirely faulted as both sides struggled to find cohesion. Herve Renard's charges created a few chances in the first half. Rainford Kalaba was the first to threaten sending his shot just over the angle of the post and bar. Chisamba Lungu's free kick was pushed away by Vincent Enyama and defender Stoppila Sunzu headed wide from another set piece. The Super Eagles had their own set of chances and could have put the match to rest had Chelsea's John Mikel scored from a spot kick in the first half. The Nigerians increased their pace after the break and Emmanuel Emenike could have scored had Armed Musa played him at the far post rather than choosing to shoot himself. Emenike later cut inside his man and slotted in to open the scoring for the Super Eagles but they were denied by a controversial penalty decision. Kennedy Mwene stepped forward to set his own record as the first stopper to score a goal in open play in the entire tournament's history.  

It was the same old story of Zambian players failing to convert clear chances into goals as we have witnessed in the past one year or so. I am one of those who are skeptical about the Chipolopolo's chances of making it out of group C. This doesn't mean am not patriotic but am being a realist. I can be called all sorts of names by some who think we can do well at this tournament and even threatened by others who believe that prayers alone will guarantee Zambia success.

As they say statistics don't lie. And if you take time to analyse Zambia's past performance since winning the AFCON in Gabon, you would see that we have not been good in front of goal. Our team has averaged one goal per match which is not a good thing especially when you are playing at tournaments like the Africa Cup because goals can decide which teams progress in case of any tie. Let's take the last match that the team is going to play against Burkina Faso for example. This is both a simple and crucial match at the same time. Crucial in the sense that all we need is a win by any scoreline because by doing so the team will amass five points and top the group if Nigeria lose or draw. I would say tough because all the Stallions (Burkina Faso) need is a draw to secure top spot regardless of the results in the other match. The four goals they put past Ethiopia despite being a man down have given them a plus and belief that they can go all the way to the finals. They are a good team after all with exciting players like Alain Traore and Jonathan Pitroipa. These are the two most dangerous players that we have to guard against when we meet on Tuesday.

The Zambian team is full of talented young men who can rise to the occasion and beat Burkina Faso to sail through to the quarter finals but one thing is standing in our way to do so. We don't have natural great ball finishers who can be compared to the likes of Kalusha Bwalya who had scored in that match against Burkina Faso when the two teams met at the 1996 Africa Cup in South Africa. Where can we get a player of the late Kelvin Mutale's calibre, someone who could score three goals in one match? When are we going to see midfielders and defenders like Elijah Litana score goals when the strikers have been tightly marked, where? Why are we not clinical with free kicks and other set pieces like corners? These are the questions that Renard and his assistants must find answers to as they drill the team to take on Burkina Faso.

We also have very good reasons to remain positive as Zambia take on Burkina Faso in the last fixture of Group C.  Zambia has never lost to their opponents at the Africa Cup. The Chipolopolo beat the Stallions 5-1 during the 1996 Africa Cup in South Africa and posted a 1 all draw in another AFCON match in 2000.

The Chipolopolo should count themselves lucky to have scored that soft penalty against the Super Eagles of Nigeria to earn a valuable point. In many cases that foul would have earned Mayuka a yellow card for going down too easily. So it will be wise of us if we can utilise the only chance that we have against Burkina Faso. The good thing about this fixture is that fate is in our own hands because we just have to win this match. There are no permutations from the other encounter between Nigeria and Ethiopia unless we complicate matters by drawing in our fixture.