Zambia on Thursday evening rallied to thump Lesotho 3-1 in the Group H tie on day-three of the 2023 Africa Cup qualifying campaign.
Italy-based forward Lameck Banda came off the bench to score a brace at Levy Mwanawasa Stadium as Chipolopolo rekindled chances of qualifying to the Africa Cup.
Coach Avram Grant was forced to replace injured captain Lubambo Musonda with Banda just after 12 minutes.
Zambia went behind in the 33rd minute when keeper Toaster Nsabata parried Tsoarelo Bereng’s freekick into his own net.
Striker Fashion Sakala leveled four minutes later with a superb cracker from outside the box to ensure the two teams went into the half time break with a 1-1 scoreline.
Banda put Zambia in front with powerful header from a corner by Kings Kangwa eight minutes after the break.
The Lecce player completed his brace with a 56th minute goal after a solo effort that saw him take on a cluster of defenders before producing a robust shot to beat Sekhoane Moerane.
Meanwhile, victory pushes Zambia to the top of Group H with six points in three games as Lesotho remained bottom with one point.
Zambia and Lesotho will clash on Sunday in their fourth Group H match in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Ivory Coast and Comoros face off on Friday in the other Group H match.
Ivory Coast have four points and Comoros sits on three points going into their third match of the qualifying campaign on Friday.
