Zambia coach Wedson Nyirenda broke his winning drought in 2017 after his makeshift side rallied from 1-0 to beat Bafana Bafana 2-1 in a friendly away at Moruleng Stadium near Rustenburg.
The side was missing all its foreign based stars including players from MTN league champions Zanaco and 2016 runners-up Zesco United while Power Dynamos striker Fwayo was a surprise last minute omission from the trip.
Bafana on the other hand had two overseas in stars in their starting 11 led by striker Kermit Erasmus of Lens in France, midfielder Andile Jali of KV Oostende in Belgium.
In the match, Lebogang Manyama put Bafana in the lead in the 22nd minute when he headed in Erasmus’ cross.
Zambia’s best chance of an equalizer in the first half came in the 41st minute when midfielder Godfrey Ngwenya forced his free kick just inches wide as Bafana went into the break leading 1-0.
Chipolopolo improved after the break and captain Donashano Malama saw his volley in the 56th minute saved by Rowan williams.
A minute later, Bafana gave Zambia a scare when Aubrey Ngoma demanded a penalty after he was fouled by Malama in the box but his appeal was waved off.
The breakthrough for Zambia came in the 72nd minute through Brian Mwila to see the Green Buffaloes striker scored his debut goal Zambia.
Three minutes later, Allan Chibwe kept the scoreline level when he denied Manyama a brace as Zambia stepped on the gas in search of the win.
The clincher came in the 79th minute through Red Arrows striker Lubinda Mundia who capitalized on some poor defending to beat Williams.
However, Bafana pressured and Percy Tau found Chibwe in inspired form in the 86th minute with a near post save.
Bafana piled the pressure but Zambia held on to snatch a confidence boosting win three days after they lost 1-0 at home to Mozambique in a 2019 AfCON Group K opening qualifier in Ndola.
The victory came after two draws and a loss from three games played by Zambia in 2017.