Power plot swift reboot after derby loss

by Staff Reporter

Tuesday Dec 14, 2021. 09:00

Power Dynamos coach Mwenya Chipepo is praying his men can quickly recover from Sunday’s bruising derby loss at Nkana to prepare for another big test at home this Friday against league leaders Green Buffaloes.

A 5th minute Paul Banda own-goal sparked Nkana’s convincing display in Sundays 2-0 Kitwe derby home win over Power that they wrapped-up in the 70th minute through a Gilroy Chimwemwe shot.

“We are disappointed but it is part of the game. We didn’t want to lose because it has been a long time since we lost at Nkana Stadium and they (Nkana) took their chances. We just have to go back home now to work on our mistakes,” Chipepo said.

“We also gave them an easy goal and from there our defence lost confidence and all that we had planned for was destroyed after that.”

The loss was Power’s first derby defeat away to Nkana since 2015 where they have since then left with a draw and four successive wins coming in Sunday’s showdown.

Power also dropped from 3rd to 9th after the loss on 22 points, eight points behind Buffaloes.

Friday’s home date against Buffaloes will kick-off the crucial mid-way-point fixtures program and Power must beat their guests to ensure they finish in the top six and qualify for the 2022 ABSA Cup.

“They (Buffaloes) are coming and we have just lost the derby our strike force didn’t function well against Nkana we are going back to work on it so that it can also help lift our defenders confidence,” Chipepo said.