Hapless Flames settle for draw
Malawi National Football coach Ronny Van Geneugeden was yesterday left soul-searching after a goalless draw against Mauritius in the 2017 Cosafa Cup Group A encounter in South Africa.
The draw means Malawi’s fate is no longer in their hands as they play their last group match against Angola tomorrow since they will rely on results from the group’s remaining matches.
The Flames are stuck at the bottom of the table with a single point.
After the match, RVG lamented his charges’ failure to put the ball behind the net despite a myriad of scoring opportunities.
The only positive from the match was perhaps the Flames’ capability to weave a string of passes at will, but as RVG put it in a post-match interview with SuperSport, only goals count.
He said: “Our game plan was to show a good passing game with a lot of movement. I think everything went well until we reached the 18-yard box. We had a lot of chances, but couldn’t score. If I was a coach who didn’t see chances created, I would say we didn’t do things right. But we had many chances and I also think we deserved a penalty today. But at the end of the day, the ball has to go into the net.”
RVG made four changes to the team that lost to Tanzania.
He maintained Ernest Kakhobwe in goals, John Lanjesi, Dennis Chembezi, Stanley Sanudi, Ian Chinyama in defence while Levison Maganizo, Chikoti Chirwa, Daliso Sailesi, Micium Mhone crammed the midfield with Jabulani Linje and Innocent Bokosi upfront.
In 30 minutes, Sailesi, Linje and Bokosi saw their efforts saved by the Mauritius goalkeeper.
In the second-half, the nightmare continued as Malawi, despite enjoying massive possession, still could not beat the Mauritius goalie.
Malawi’s consolation was a man-of-the-match performance from Sailesi. n
