Emmanuel Mayuka came off the bench on Sunday to convert a dramatic last minute penalty to send Napsa Stars to a historical debut CAF Confederation Cup qualification at National Heroes Stadium in Lusaka.
Napsa rallied from 2-1 down at home to finish 2-2 against Gor Mahia of Kenya to qualify 3-2 on aggregate to next month’s group stage after the first leg 1-0 away in Nairobi on February 14.
But it was Gor Mahia hit the ground running after flying in from Nairobi just three hours before kickoff and made a statement in a four-minute goal fest after the first quarter.
The club has now confirmed coach Fathi has recovered well from the virus and has resumed his duties with the team after returning negative results.
“We are excited to see our coach Mohamed Fathi fit and back to full-time work,” the club said on their social media pages. “Coach Fathi who had suffered from Covid-19 finally tested negative and is back with the team.
“Welcome back coach and we thank God for your quick recovery.”
In Fathi’s absence, assistant coach Geoffrey Hamakwendwa handled the team in two league matches.
Meanwhile, the club has confirmed the return of Austin Banda, Danny Silavwe, goalkeeper Rabson Mucheleng anga, and Amos Simwanza have all resumed training after recovering from injuries.
After a seamless ride in the CAF Confederation Cup preliminary stage, Napsa Stars prepare for a big second round test on Tuesday when they host UD Songo of Mozambique at National Heroes Stadium in Lusaka.
Napsa breezed through the first round with 5-1 away and 4-1 home win’s over Ngazi of Comoros.
But that form is a total contrast to Napsa’s overall league form where they have just one win from seven games with four draws.
“I think in the league we are not performing as expected but as a team, we will try and sort our ourselves out but I can assure you that going forward, we will make sure Napsa will be where they are is supposed to be,” Napsa captain Dickson Chapa said.