The manager was left impressed by the manner in which his side recovered from a goal down twice, before succumbing to a late Fernando Torres strike. A penalty from home debutant Allesandro Diamanti and a fine header by Carlton Cole cancelled out strikers by Torres and Kuyt.
"I see what the players do on the pitch and the way they performed today was encouraging," Zola told the official site.
"I think we were unfortunate today not to pick up points. The rest is encouraging and I am sure we will get better and it won't be long coming."