Moyale coaches contradict on Gastin availability

Moyale Barracks coach Nicholas Mhango and his assistant Charles Kamanga have contradicted each other on the availability of striker Gastin Simkonda in tomorrow’s Fisd Challenge Cup final.

While Mhango said the player is available for selection tomorrow, Kamanga said the striker still needs time after starting light training.

“Let me tell all Moyale supporters that Gastin is now available and will play in the final for the first time since recovering from the road accident,” said Mhango.

But Kamanga insisted that the former Flames striker is still not ready to play in competitive matches despite doing light training for three months.

“The good news is that he is destined to play again. We do not want to rush him because we know that his injury was a big one,” he said.

The striker also said he is not ready for top action.

“I have been doing light exercises for three months, but I am still not fit enough to play. The training sessions, which include a little bit of jogging, ball work and shooting, have helped me to strengthen my faith that I will be on the pitch someday,” he said.

The forward, who once won the Super League Golden Boot, said the time he has spent on the sidelines has been the worst of his career.

“Going a full season without playing has been my worst nightmare in football. But I have always been consoled by the fact that in life you expect the ups and downs,” he said.

On the chances of reclaiming his goal-scoring prowess and wizardry dribbling, Simkonda admitted that he faces a long road.

“It won’t be easy to be at the top again. But I think with hard work I can hit the top levels again,” he said.

Simkonda, alongside other Malawi Defence Force soldiers and teammates Boyiboyi Chima and Lovemore Mitengo, got injured when a car he was travelling in was involved in an accident in Mzimba in March.

Chima and Mitengo resumed playing a few months after the accident. n