RVG sticks to game plan
Malawi national football team coach Ronny van Geneugden (RVG) says apart from working on finishing, he will not alter the team’s game plan when they face Botswana’s Zebras this evening in their second Cosafa Cup Group B match in Polokwane, South Africa.
In a post-match interview after Malawi lost 1-0 to 161 ranked Mauritius on Monday, a visibly inflamed RVG did not hide his disappointment with his players’ failure to hit the target in 26 attempts, 11 on target.
He also was not pleased with how his defence failed to recover after Mauritius launched a counterattack that eventually led to the decisive goal in the 14th minute.
But when asked how he would react to such flaws, RVG said he would maintain the team, but work on finishing.
He said: “We had control of the game. With the performance of the second half, we deserved to score. The chances we created were enough to score two or three goals. The players are aware that they made some mistakes. We will work on them, more especially on finishing.”
The loss means Malawi are at the bottom of Group B while Mauritius are second from leaders Botswana who beat Angola 2-1.
The Flames are now under pressure as they face Botswana at Seshego Stadium after Angola and Mauritius have sorted each other out.
Regardless of the outcome from the first match, Malawi needs to win at all cost so that the Group’s qualification should be open. A draw or loss is not an option.
“If we win, who knows, anything can happen. This is football,” said RVG.
The coach will maintain Silver Strikers goalkeeper Brighton Munthali while captain John Lanjesi, Gomezgani Chirwa, Peter Cholopi and Precious Sambani will be in defence.
Holding midfielder Rafick Namwera, John Banda and Dalitso Sailesi will be in the midfield. Upfront RVG has kept faith in Robin Ngalande, Richard Mbulu and Gastin Simkonda.
But back home soccer analyst Charles Nyirenda was of the view that Bullets duo of Chiukepo Msowoya and Patrick Phiri should start if Malawi is to make an impact in today’s match.
“When Chiukepo came in [for Namwera], you could actually see that we started pressurising the opponents. That is why we created those quick successive chances. Patrick [Phiri] is another player who goes for goals. Given those chances, he could not miss, Even after coming in for Sailesi towards the end of the game his impact was immediate,” he said
Chiukepo saw his effort cleared on the line by a Mauritius defender after beating the goalkeeper.
The Flames have not beaten Botswana in their six previous meetings, losing three and drawing three. The last time they met was in May 2016 when they played out a goalless draw in a friendly match. n
