John Maduka praises Royal display
Malawian coach John Maduka has praised his South African DStv Premiership side Royal AM for a resolute display after sharing spoils in a 1-1 draw against Richard Mbulu’s Baroka FC despite being reduced to 10 men.
Royal fought back to rescue a point on Sunday afternoon as Given Mashikinya was shown a straight red card in the 44th minute.
Despite playing the entire second half with a man down, Maduka’s charges dominated ball possession and the number of chances created.
The former Malawi National Football Team captain said they were supposed to win the match as they created great chances.
“We had to play with 10 men where we had to change the way we approached the game. We had to sacrifice our formation so it did tamper with our plans but we still dominated the game.
“We were still supposed to win the game with the chances we created; so credit to the boys as even with 10 men we kept on pushing. We played more in the opposition half and created so many chances and if we were just a bit sharper we could have won,” he told kickoff.com.
Maduka said he was contented with the point and looked forward to the next fixture against Sekhukhune United in a battle of fourth place at Ellis Park Stadium on 20 November.
Royal have been impressive after a poor start to the season, which saw club management issuing an ultimatum in September, asking Maduka to improve or face the chop.
The Malawian responded almost immediately and has not lost a match since.
After playing 10 matches, Royal have 18 points with five wins, three draws and two losses.
They are seven points behind leaders Mamelodi Sundowns, who have a game in hand.
