Zambia off to flying Cecafa start with Tanzania defeat
Tanzania Gaudence Mwaikimba (left) challenges Zambia's Brian Musonda in Saturday's Cecafa game
Zambia got off to a flying start in this year's Cecafa Senior Challenge Cup, defeating hosts Tanzania 1-0 in the opening game on Saturday.
Ken Mudenda silenced the home crowd in Dar-es-Salam in front of president Jakaya Kikwete with his 24th minute effort.
He seized on an error by the defenders to calmly round goalkeeper Juma Kaseja and slot the ball into an empty net.
The Taifa Stars wasted two good chances to draw level but wasted them.
Tanzania responded strongly just before the break but Mrisho Ngassa missed a glorious opportunity when he fired over the bar from the edge of the box.
Mussa Nditi also fluffed another golden opportunity with only the Zambian goalkeeper at his mercy late in the game.
Tanzania coach Puolsen Jan blamed his team's defeat on lack of firepower in the attack of the Taifa Stars.
"We need to start scoring goals to win matches. This is what we are not doing," the Danish manager said.
"We made enough chances to win the match but we did not score and that was it," he added.
Zambian coach Donatti Orano praised his team's tenacity in the face of the incessant onslaught of their goal area late in the game.
"Playing the home side is definitely not easy and now that we have won, we can take on the rest of the matches with confidence," the Italian boss said.
Saturday's other Group A match between Burundi and Somalia was postponed to Sunday because of the late arrival of the latter.
Two Group B matches will be played on Sunday with Sudan taking on Zanzibar while Rwanda play Ivory Coast, the other guest team in the tournament.
The 12 teams have been put into three groups of four, with the top two sides in each pool qualifying for the quarter-finals, along with the two best third-place finishers.
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