Revert to 4-4-2, nomads urged

Be Forward Wanderers have a slight chance of upsetting the tables against AS Vita in this afternoon’s CAF Champions League preliminary round second leg, only if they revert to their traditional 4-4-2 formation, analysts have advised.

But the Nomads have kept their cards close to the chest on their system of play in the crucial tie at Bingu National Stadium (BNS) in Lilongwe.

Wanderers step onto the 40 000-seater stadium with a 4-0 deficit after a disastrous outing in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) a week ago.

Three goals conceded within the first-half made life difficult for the Nomads who were using an unfamiliar 4-5-1 system.

But after reverting to the traditional 4-4-2, the Nomads regained rhythm in their attack and only conceded a goal towards the end of the match.

Analyst Charles Nyirenda said the TNM Super League champions cannot afford experimenting again.

He said: “They should just go flat out and ensure that they score at least two quick goals within the first 15 minutes. That can only happen if they use the 4-4-2 system and not the 4-5-1 in which they only used one striker. That will be suicide.”

Even the Nomads opponents coach Jean-Florent Ikwange Ibengé was honest enough to say Wanderers can upset the tables if they change their approach.

He said: “Wanderers managed to pressurise us for about 20 to 30 minutes when they changed the system in the second-half. So, yes, they can cause an upset, if they play like they did in the second half.”

Vita got the feel of the match venue on Monday and Ibenge said their plan is to score goals.

“We will stick to our style because what we want in this game is to score goals,” he said, suggesting that he will device an attacking system.

Another analyst David Kanyenda, who is also former Wanderers general secretary, said the Nomads should stick to what its players are familiar with.

He said: “Wanderers should revert to the 4-4-2 formation due to the fact that our players are accustomed and familiar to it. With or without Vitas opinion, we ordinarily use this system.”

Kanyenda, however, warned that Vita would be dangerous in counter-attacks.

“On paper anything can happen, but the reality is that Vita took the foot off the pedal in the second -half of the first leg, knowing that a 3-0 lead was healthy. Vita were more concerned about conceding during the second-half. Wanderers are likely to maintain an offensive approach which will expose them at the back.

“Vita will rely on swift counters in search of an away goal which will make Wanderers task virtually impossible. Vita coach knows his team enjoys a massive advantage but is sufficiently professional to respect his opponents. He must have told his charges never to sit on their laurels and to wrap up the job with an away goal,” he said.

But Wanderers technical director Jack Chamangwana avoided talking about the system the Nomads will use.

He said: “A system is just a system. You can play with 10 defenders but still concede goals. You can play with five strikers but fail to score. What I can say is that we will avoid the mistakes that we made in DRC. We will goal flat out and attack and defend as a unit as well.”

On his part, captain Joseph Kamwendo said: “We learned from the mistakes that we made away and come Wednesday, you will see a changed Wanderers.”

The Nomads players, however, appeared to be in good spirits as they jogged around the pitch.

Midfielder Yamikani Chester and defender Lucky Malata  could be seen laughing as they cracked jokes. n