Editors PickNational Sports

We can’t turn tables—Masters

Loud and clear. Masters Security FC coach Abbas Makawa has said this afternoon’s CAF Confederation Cup preliminary round second leg tie against Atletico Petroleos de Luanda will be an exercise of damage limitation.

Masters host the Angolans at Bingu National Stadium in Lilongwe from 2.30pm.

Masters have a mountain to climb

After suffering a 5-0 demolition in the first leg, Makawa yesterday morning said a narrow victory could be a realistic solace other than giving Malawians false hopes of turning the tables.

“But then looking at our shoddy preparations, I am not even sure if we can even achieve that [narrow victory].

“We only had our first serious training yesterday [Sunday] since returning from Angola last week and we have another session this morning[yesterday].

“So, although the boys appear to be picking up, koma eeeh abwana ndizobvuta. Koma aah tiphuphabe [we have a difficult task, but we will try to do well].

But while the Masters mentor could not be drawn to comment on the reason behind the shoddy preparations, according to The Nation findings, the players staged a training boycott demanding their outstanding dues.

Makawa said while qualification into the next round is beyond the realms of possibility, there is still more that his charges can fight for.

“Who knows, one or two players could impress the visiting team and could be offered opportunities for trials if not outright deals?

“The national coach [Ronny van Geneugden] will also be there and he could spot some players,” he said.

Analysing Petro Atletico’s strengths, Makawa said they are dangerous when attacking through the wings.

He further claimed that the margin could have been narrow in Luanda, had they been tactically and technically sound.

“We wasted two good chances and they opened the scoring towards the end of the first half.

“This means the first half could have ended goalless. Towards the end of the second half, we lost concentration mostly because of fatigue due to the scorching conditions and that’s when we conceded the other goals,” he said.

But Makawa said he has sharpened the striking force and solidified the defence.

“It’s a major concern that we have been poor in those areas but we have done much home work and we expect to be stronger in this match,” he said.

Masters will still be without three players that missed the Angola trip Sam Gunda, Patience Kalumo and Wyson Nkana.

“Their names are still missing in CAF database so they will not be available. It is unfortunate that we will not have them,” he said.

The Super League side will also be without Kondwani Lufeyo who is nursing an injury.

“He is the only absentee from the team I took to Angola. But we have equally good replacements so we are not panicking much over Kondwani’s absence,” he said.

Petroleos Brazilian coach Beto Bianchi said although they carry a strong lead, they will not relax saying in football anything can happen.

“Barcelona turned  over a 4-0 deficit  against PSG, so nothing is won yet.  We will have to be at our best like in the first match if we are to progress  into the next round,” he said in an interview after his team’s training session at the BNS yesterday.

But the coach said he will make some changes because they have three players who are injurued.

“But that will not change our game plan. We will stick to our style which we use in all  our games,” he said.

They boast a star-studded squad which includes their Brazilian goal poacher Tiago Lima Leal and hat-trick hero in the first leg tie Antonio Rosa Ribieiro.

Petro Atletico boast of the most championships in the Angolan  flagship Girabola League—15. They were runners-up last season but won the Angolan Cup.

They arrived in the country just before midnight on Sunday and had the feel of the match venue yesterday.

Related Articles

Back to top button