Creck Hardware captain of the day, Akuzike Lifa believes his team was punished for failing to maintain their first-half rhythm during Sunday’s narrow 0-1 defeat to Mighty Wanderers at Champion Stadium in Mponela.

Speaking after the match, Lifa lamented the missed opportunities in the opening half, emphasizing that capitalizing on those chances could have allowed them to take control of the game early on.

“We were obviously playing a strong side, but we lacked depth upfront, especially in the second half after about 20 minutes of play. The pressure was on us until we conceded,” said the 22-year-old skipper.

“There will be time to improve, but today [Sunday] it just didn’t go our way.”

Despite a spirited first-half performance, Creck Hardware struggled to replicate the same intensity after the break. Wanderers capitalized on the dip in energy and eventually found the decisive goal to secure victory through Francisco Madinga’s strike.

Lifa remains optimistic, however, insisting that the team will regroup and address the areas that led to the setback.

“We just need to be more clinical and maintain consistency throughout the match,” he added.

The defeat means Creck Hardware will need to bounce back in the next assignment as we face Kamuzu Barracks at Aubrey Dimba in Mchinji.