The Pensioners have shifted focus to the ABSA Cup quarter final when they face Army sponsored side Green Buffalos FC at Arthur Davis Stadium in Kitwe this afternoon.
This is an early kick off encounter set for 12:30hours with the second match seeing Red Arrows face Nkwazi FC at 15:00 hours.
NAPSA Stars FC Head Coach Perry Mutapa has urged his boys to fight for a victory in today’s match, adding that this will be a great test for the team as they work towards heading back to the Super League.
Both teams are coming from recording losses in their League encounters and will be looking forward to changing fortunes in today’s match.
Coach Perry has added that he knows that his team will go into today’s match being labelled underdogs, especially that the team is coming from a Division One League.
“It is a big game for both teams especially after the results recorded in the previous matches. GBFC are a big team despite their bad form in the league in their past 10 matches or so, but our aim is to fight and go to the next round.
He adds that qualifying to the semi-final round will give his team motivation especially going into their last eight league matches.
Meanwhile, both sides were the first teams to qualify for this tournament in their respective leagues after the first round of the season.
Napsa Stars FC qualified to this competition after finishing in top two of the Eden National Division One league at the end of the first round of the season.
This will be the fifth appearance for the Pensioners to what is currently Zambia’s only running Cup Competition.
The Pensioners took part in 2012 and went on to lift the trophy when the competition was called Barclays Cup. In 2014, the team came close but were eliminated by Zesco United in the Semi-final round.
Another impressive run came in the 2017 when the team reached the final round under Coach Linos Makwaza who had taken over Coach Tenant Chilumba. Napsa lost this match to Zanaco FC.
2020 should have been NAPSA’S fourth participation under Coach Mohamed Fathi but the competition could not take place owing to COvid-19 outbreak.
Form guide
The pensioners are coming from recording a 3-2 loss to Nchanga Rangers FC in their league match, while GBFC are also coming from recording a loss in their last Super league match.
NAPSA are fourth on the Eden National Division One log with 46 points after 26 games played, while GBFC are fifth on their Super League log with 38 points after 26 games played.
The two teams last met in the Super League before NAPSA Stars FC was demoted. GBFC won the match by 2 goals to 1.
Key players
Defender and team captain Luka Banda return after missing out from the last encounter with Nchanga Rangers FC. Banda was serving his one game suspension in the League competition.
Coach Perry will be without the services of enterprising midfielder Austin Banda after the player picked up an injury in a league match played against Livingstone Pirates.
Striker Jimmy Mukeya is also missing from the team together with Doisy Soko. The two did not made it to Coach Perry’s team that travelled for this cup game.
How to watch the game
The game will be televised live on Supersport Chanel 229 on DStv at exactly 12:30 hours.
Gate charges are K20 and K100 for open wing and VIP respectively.