frustrated

Malawi Under-20 national soccer team started so brilliantly yesterday against Botswana’s young Zebras at Kamuzu Stadium in a CAF Youth Championship preliminary first leg with an early strike, but failed to hold their nerve, allowing the boys from Kalahari Desert to level the score.

A move of utter beauty just four minutes into the game saw Abraham Kamwendo cutting in from the right before curling a sweet right-footer which Khumbo Ng’ambi beautifully headed past Botswana’s goalminder Vnobatsa Mbaiwa to send the sizeable turnout into delirium.

It was all simple and as soft as the cheeks of a newly-born baby.

However, Karabo Phili cancelled the lead in the 21st minute with a classic finish to give the Young Zebras a spring in their step going into the second leg away in Gaborone on April 25.

While there was no doubting Phili’s execution, the beauty of it all was in Onkabetse Makgantai’s creation. The way he crafted the goal was the stuff of footballing fantasy.

He got the ball on the left flank and shrugged off two defenders before finding Phili with a pass that oozed class, who in turn did the rest to perfection with a cool connection—no fuss, no panic.

The visitors nearly surged ahead in the 32nd minute, but Kabelano Mooketsane’s effort hit the post and relief was the prevalent emotion in the stadium.

The half-time pep talk by coach Ernest Mtawali and Gerald Phiri Snr seemed to have breathed a new life into the Junior Flames who were dominant in the second-half, but sadly, they failed to penetrate the visitors defence and were guilty of playing needless square balls.

Towards the end of the match, the desperate Flames forced Botswana into rearguard action, but it was not enough and it was never going to be.

After the match, Mtawali admitted that Botswana will go into the second leg with an ace up their sleeve having scored a vital away goal, but was quick to point out that the battle is far from over.

“But all is not lost, we’ll go for their throats in Botswana and register a positive result. It was the first time that the boys were playing as a team and there were lessons drawn from the match,” said Mtawali.

His Botswana counterpart Innocent Morapedi was a model of modesty, brushing off suggestions that his side has an advantage ahead of the second leg.

“This is football my friend, you never know what is going to happen,” said Morapedi.