We will be big fans of Lesotho on Sunday, says Chipolopolo coach Herve Renard in the wake of Saturday’s disappointing 1-all draw against Sudan at the Levy Mwanawasa Stadium in Ndola.
And Sudan coach Muhammed Abdalla said his side was not out to favour Ghana by holding Zambia at their won backyard.
In a post match press conference, Renard said he was very disappointed with the result but was praying for a good result in Maseru where Ghana engages Lesotho.
The gaffer looked calm but declared his sqaud ready
Renard said if Lesotho played as spiritedly as Sudan played against Zambia, the Black Stars could be dimmed.
“We just have to wait and see what happens. We are going to be big fans of Lesotho tomorrow (Sunday),” he said.
“I hope Lesotho plays a good game like Sudan played against us today.”
Renard said Zambia had paid for a moment of lapse after having gone ahead on 70 minutes.
“We conceded one stupid corner and we made one mistake, in the end it was 1-1. It is all our fault. In football what matters is the final score.”
Renard said there was no excuse for the 1-all draw against Sudan.
“When there is a lot of support there is no excuse for failing and we failed today before a fantastic crowd. There is no excuse,” he said.
Renard said Zambia had to be consistent.
“In football it is always important to be consistent.”
Meanwhile, Sudan coach Abdallah said his men had not conspired with Ghana to put up a strong challenge against Zambia.
“We believe in fair play, we are not playing for the sake of Ghana or any team. We are the Sudan national team one of the founders of CAF. It is not our way,” he said.
Zambia has failed to defeat Sudan in this series losing 2-0 in the first leg, a result that was reversed after the latter used an ineligible player and drew Saturday’s encounter. Conversely, Ghana has picked maximum points over Sudan beating them 4-0 in Kumasi and inflicting a 3-1 hiding at their home ground.
The Ghanaians hauled a 7-0 win over Lesotho in the first leg and are looking to replicate their form in Maseru where Zambia dropped points by settling for a 1-all draw in March 2013 but restored some dignity when they vilified the Crocodiles last week with a 4-0 home result.