Zambia coach Beston Chambeshi has praised goalkeeper Toaster Nsabata for showing shades of Chipolopolo first-choice Kennedy Mweene in Saturday’s 2018 COSAFA Cup quarter-final post-match penalty win over Namibia.

Mweene’s understudy and Zanaco goalkeeper saved one spot-kick before emulating his senior by converting a penalty to help Zambia advance 4-3 following a scoreless result at Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane.

“You all know he has been Kennedy Mweene’s understudy and for sure even the way he took the penalty, I thought it was Kennedy Mweene, but then I realised it was Toaster Nsabata,” Chambeshi said.

Nsabata also saved Zambia’s blushes in the 84th minute to deny Itamunua Kaimunine from scoring the potential match winner when gathered the Namibian forwards’ point-blank range shot.

“It is good the young boy, he is coming up, he is working hard,” Chambeshi said.

“We are looking at the future and we encourage the boy to maintain the same level of play so that he can continue playing at this higher level.”

Nsabata, who was also Zambia’s number one at the 2018 CHAN in January and in March’s hosting of Four-Nations Friendly Tournament in Ndola, is somewhat of a reborn figure.

The early part of his Chipolopolo career took a hit in 2014 when his howlers in a 4-3 friendly loss to Japan away in Florida saw his stock plummet.

However, Nsabata he rebounded in 2016 to help Zanaco win their seventh FAZ Super Division title.

Nsabata later had an outstanding 2017 CAF Champions League where he conceded just three goals in eight games from the preliminaries to the group stage of the competition.

By Kalumiana Kalumiana