Flames falter in dying minutes

For a good 81 minutes, the Flames yesterday held on to their nerves against Equatorial Guinea at their Nuevo Estadio de Malabo fortress but, as usual, there was to be a sting in the tail and they succumbed to relentless pressure to lose 1-0.

Just when it appeared that Malawi were on the brink of earning a vital away point in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers against a team that had a remarkable eight straight wins in all competitions at home, they struck the winner through Iban Salvado Edu.

In a match monitored on MBC Television, the hosts were awarded a free-kick on the right flank and as the Flames were expecting a long ball into the box, Bassey slided a perfectly weighed pass into the path of Salvado who fired the ball home.

Disbelief was the prevalent emotion from the Flames goalkeeper George Chikooka and his defence, who stood motionless.

Despite the loss, the Flames remain fourth in the six-team Group H with six points from four games, four points behind leaders Tunisia’s Carthage Eagles, who played out a goalless draw against Namibia’s Brave Warriors on Sunday.

Namibia are second with eight points while Liberia’s Lone Stars, who are now coached by immediate-past Flames gaffer Mario Marinica, are third with seven points.

Equatorial Guinea, who forfeited six points from their first two matches, are fifth with three points while Sao Tome and Principe anchor the group with no point

For the better part of the match, the Flames were on the back foot as the Nzalang Nacionale attacked wave after wave with only Flames goaltender  Chikooka frustrating their several attempts.

The West Africans, who are ranked 79th, 56 places above the Flames, found a fruitful avenue in the wings in which right-back Stanley Sanudi and left-back Tatenda M’balaka had a busy afternoon with Equatorial Guinea’s Pablo Ganet proving to be a handful.

At times, they even had the luxury of stringing eight passes and camping in the Flames half with their goalkeeper a mere spectator.

Malawi’s only notable chance was when Zambia-based striker Chifundo Mphasi broke through on the right but his through ball went begging with no one in green jersey to provide the final touch.

Flames coach Patrick Mabedi made only two changes to the team that started against Sao Tome at Bingu National Stadium (BNS) in Lilongwe on Tuesday. Injured Zambia-based midfielder Robert Saizi was replaced by wonderkid Patrick Mwaungulu while Mphasi paved the way for US-based Henri Kumwenda.

At the start of the second half, Mwaungulu and Kumwenda were taken off for Mphasi and Wisdom Mpinganjira, but nothing changed.

In the 61st minute, Malawi again made a double substitution, taking out Lanjesi Nkhoma and Chawanangwa Kaonga for captain John Banda and McDonald Lameck.

In a post-match interview, Mabedi attributed the defeat to loss of concentration which led to Equatorial Guinea’s goal.

He said: “That moment when we lost concentration proved costly. We emphasized to the players at half-time to avoid set-pieces and we paid for that.

“Anyway, we were up against a good side that has several Europe-based players.”

Meanwhile, Kenya who are playing their home World Cup matches at BNS host reigning African champions this afternoon.