Kananji eyes another record
Mighty Be Forward Wanderers coach Elia Kananji is expected to break yet another record if the Nomads triumph over Civo United in the Standard Bank Knockout Cup final this Sunday.
No club has won two knockout cups within a season since 2002.
The last coach to have achieved such a feat is Big Bullets under the tutelage of Gilbert Chirwa, who grabbed the Embassy Cup and Carlsberg Cup in 2002.
Bullets went on to win the Super League as well in that year.
But Kananji, who successfully guided the Nomads to Carlsberg Cup victory over rivals Big Bullets in August, said he was not under any pressure to achieve this record.
“Our target is to grab the cup. The records come second. We just need to concentrate on our mission. Follow the game plan and win the match,” Kananji said.
“But of course we will celebrate achieving that feat at the end of the day. It’s everybody’s wishing to be the best.”
Football analyst Charles Nyirenda said Kananji was capable of a double with the squad that Wanderers have assembled.
“Well, he already has one trophy on his shelf with the same squad. He has the capacity to excel with the boys provided they work extra hard against a glory starved Civo, who are obviously, very dangerous these days,” Nyirenda said.
Football Association of Malawi (FAM) competitions manager, Gomezgani Zakazaka, said the final would be exciting considering that Civo are fired up.
“Wanderers want to be the first team to win a knockout cup double since 2002, but Civo also have their quest. They have never won a cup since 2009 when they were Presidential Cup champions,” Zakazaka said.
Civo twice failed to win the Standard Bank Cup in 2009 and 2010. n
