Andrew Mdzumira
So, last night during the Malawi 2-1 victory over South Sudan at Bingu National Stadium in the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier, some supporters were calling the head coach Kalisto Pasuwa to introduce striker Malango Mayele.
Pasuwa did not attend to their calls and instead introduced striker Ephraim Kondowe who replaced Babatunde Adepoju, and also introduced Francisco Madinga for Patrick Mwaungulu with Wisdom Mpinganjira replacing Chifundo Mphasi.
The Flames head coach has explained why Mayele was not given playing time.
He said some of the players, like Malango, had arrived only a day before the match and had not trained enough with the team for the technical staff to assess their fitness.
“Some players they [supporters] wanted didn’t train with us because they only came a day minus one and you can’t see someone to say whether he is fit or not in a day minus one” he said.
Pasuwa also raised concerns about spaces in midfield when Malawi were defending. He said Patrick Mwaungulu sometimes left gaps in central areas in front of Blessings Singini and Lloyd Njaliwa, but praised his work when Malawi had possession. He said the issue could be corrected in training and also noted the spaces between the defence, midfield and attack.
Pasuwa praised other players like Gaddie Chirwa and Babatunde Adepoju for their performances.
He said Chirwa had impressed him in training with his ability to help both in attack and defence, while describing Adepoju’s performance as very good.
The Zimbabwean tactician said the Flames need to improve their concentration and game management after beating South Sudan.
He said Malawi started well, especially in the opening 10 to 15 minutes, but lost their rhythm after taking the lead and allowed South Sudan to come back into the game.
“We started well but we dropped the tempo after scoring,” he said.
The Flames led 1-0 at half-time but conceded soon after the restart following a lapse in concentration. Pasuwa said the players need to learn how to hold on to their leads, particularly when they are ahead by one goal.
He said this was also a mental issue, pointing to previous matches in which Malawi had led for long periods before conceding late goals.
“We have been playing these games away from home, where we can go maybe 70, 80 minutes leading then we concede in the dying minutes. A silly goal that we are not supposed to concede” he explained.
He said the win was also important for the players’ confidence as the Flames continue to rebuild.
“When you are climbing a mountain you start from bottom going up, you can’t start from the top going down, so I think they are coming up” he added.
The coach said the technical team had noted the problems from the match and would work on them before Malawi’s next qualifier match.
Malawi will play its second group B match on Saturday away to Angola. Meanwhile Malawi is topping the group with 3 points. Egypt and Angola played out to a goalless draw.
