National Sports

Flames coach focuses on finishing

Flames coach Meck Mwase has said he is dwelling on scoring tactics in training sessions ahead of back-to-back 2022 Afcon qualifying matches against Burkina Faso next week.

The coach has also challenged his midfielders and defenders to master the art of scoring goals, saying such a responsibility is not exclusive to strikers alone.

The development comes after the senior football national team failed to score in their last three matches.

They lost 2-0 to Uganda in the African Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifier last November, 1-0 to Zambia and settled for a goalless draw against Zimbabwe in international friendly matches this year.

So far, the Flames have scored only three goals in their last six games as they beat Botswana 1-0 in the World Cup qualification, South Sudan 1-0 in Afcon qualifier and drew one-all against Lesotho in a friendly match last year.

“We have been creating a lot of scoring chances, but have been failing to score in our last three matches.  So we are concentrating on building the players’ confidence as regards to converting chances. In football, you only win a match if you score goals while avoiding conceding,” said Mwase.

“We are not only targeting strikers in this initiative, but midfielders and defenders as well. Scoring is the responsibility of every player in the field of play.”

To make it work, he said: “We will put much emphasis on instilling a sense of confidence in the players when in front of goal. Lack of composure is the major setback.”

Flames captain John ‘CJ’ Banda, who joined camp on Wednesday as the second foreign-based player after USA-based Yamikani Chester, concurred with Mwase that they need to sharpen their scoring prowess.

“Scoring is really a big problem with us and something needs to be done urgently. During training, we ably score a barrage of goals, but we struggle to do so in real games. We seem to have too much pressure and we welcome the coach’s initiative,” he said.

Football analyst George Chiusiwa yesterday advised the Flames’ technical panel to also employ a style of play that gives midfielders and defenders room for flexibility to attack while not losing touch with their respective positions.

“The team is playing good coordinated football and enjoys possession despite that its style of play seems to limit certain players as regards to attack. They seem to be fixed to traditional positional play. It is high time such players are given certain room of flexibility to attack,” he said.

Chiusiwa added that the team needs a creative midfield that bolsters the striking force but it is unfortunate that the team is cautious by deploying naturally defensive midfielders.

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