Former Swallows hitman Chamanga still going strong

James Chamanga is letting the football and not his age do the talking says Red Arrows assistant coach Kalilo Kakonje after the veteran lifted the Zambian champions to second place.

The 42-year-old striker pulled off a super-sub act on Wednesday when he scored a late goal in Arrows’ 2-1 home win over winless Buildcon at Nkoloma Stadium in Lusaka.

“James is ageing but you cannot rule him out,” Kakonje said.

“Whenever you throw him on, he does something, and when he came in, he stabilized the frontline.”

Kakonje is standing in for head coach Chisi Mbewe who is away as Zambia U20 coach at the 2022 COSAFA U20 Cup in Eswatini.

Chamanga was a double substitution in the 75th minute together with Fred Tshimenga when they came on for Ricky Banda and Conlyde Luchanga respectively with the sides tied at one-all.

It took just 11 minutes for Chamanga to make his impact felt when he headed in the winning goal.

The goal is Chamanga’s second of the season after six rounds of matches played into the 2022/2023 FAZ Super League campaign.

Chamanga is one goal behind Arrows’ early top scorer and Chipolopolo Zambia midfielder Saddam Phiri.

Striker Lubinda Mundia from league leaders Prison Leopards tops the chart with 4 goals.

Meanwhile, Arrows took the lead in the 14th minute through George Chaloba but Buildcon equalized on the stroke of halftime through their captain Lionel Ngong.

Arrows’ mid-week victory elevates them eight places to number two on 11 points, tied with

Power Dynamos and Nchanga Rangers but are a point behind Prison Leopards.

Bottom of the log Buildcon remains the only side without a league win this season with 1 point from six games after suffering their third straight defeat.

And Arrows are back in action this Saturday when they host a team just a point behind them in the form of fifth-placed Green Buffaloes in a Lusaka derby at Nkoloma Stadium.