Kansanshi Dynamos head coach Denis Makinka has blamed a costly defensive lapse for his side’s narrow 1-0 defeat to Nkana FC in Wednesday’s MTN Super League Stream A encounter at Nkana Stadium.
Charles Zulu’s 53rd-minute strike proved decisive in a closely contested encounter, leaving the Mabanga Boys empty-handed despite a disciplined first-half display that had frustrated the hosts.
Kansanshi had successfully disrupted Nkana’s attacking approach in the opening 45 minutes, forcing the hosts to resort to long balls while remaining composed in possession themselves.
However, their defensive resistance was eventually broken when they failed to clear their lines, allowing Zulu to capitalise and score what proved to be the winning goal.
Speaking after the match, Makinka described the defeat as painful, insisting his side had done enough to earn at least a point.
“Painful loss. At least the worst could have been a draw. But obviously, football being what it is, one small mistake,” he said.
“I thought we were controlling the ball, we frustrated them and their plan. We saw how they were trying to play and we changed the way we approached the game in the first 45 minutes.
“We managed to frustrate them and they started playing long balls. When we collected the ball, we put it on the ground, but just that one mistake.”
The Kansanshi coach admitted his players should have dealt with the situation better, particularly after winning possession but failing to clear the danger.
“We got the ball and we couldn’t clear our lines, and they got that goal. We could have done better,” he added.
Makinka also explained the thinking behind introducing Rodgers after conceding, saying the change was intended to give his side greater attacking impetus and increase their presence in the Nkana penalty area.
“It was a tactical change because we needed to start attacking after conceding. We needed more manpower which could go forward.
“We thought of bringing in Rodgers, who is able to make those overlapping runs, just to flood the box. We tried, but in the end we couldn’t put the goal in the net,” Makinka explained.
The defeat leaves Kansanshi sixth in Stream A with five points from six matches, while Nkana climb to the top of the standings on 13 points.
Makinka’s side will now look to bounce back when they host Trident FC in their next fixture as they seek to recover from the setback and reignite their campaign.
