Junior Flames cautious
Malawi under-17 national football team Coach, De Klerk Msakakuona, says despite humbling South Africa 3-0, his charges still have a long way to go before reaching the semifinals of the Cosafa Youth Championship.
Malawi face eSwatini today at Mpira Stadium in Chiwembe Township, Blantyre, while hoping to top a group which also has Zambia.
“We have two games to play before reaching the semifinals. We have Zambia and eSwatini to play against and we just have to completely forget about the first game. We have to win the two games to reach the semifinals,” Msakakuona said.
He said eSwatini might have lost 0-6 to Zambia on Saturday but could spring a surprise as they also want to qualify.
“It will be a different ball game altogether. We should not take things for granted,” the Blue Eagles Coach said.
Malawi must plan for life without Andrew Lameck who was given marching orders for a second bookable offence late in the second half of the match against South Africa.
Mike Thom put Malawi ahead in added time of the first-half after a seemingly balanced affair in the opening stages.
Early in the second half, Malawi ran riot with Dave Tobias claiming a brace in a space of four minutes as the Junior Flames cemented their lead.
Malawi last won the championship in 2001 on home soil. The junior Flames finished with bronze medals during the 2016 and 2017 editions of the showpiece.
eSwatini Coach, Gcina Dlamini, said he expected a tough battle following their shaky start.
“We will try to get a result but we know it will be tough,” Dlamini said.
In an early kickoff, South Africa take on Zambia.
