Kanyenda undergoing fitness test
Be Forward Wanderers coach Yasin ‘Titch’ Osman has said new-signing veteran forward Esau ‘Black Mamba’ Kanyenda is undergoing fitness test before he can be considered for selection.
The Nomads unveiled the Kanyenda last week after signing him as a free agent until the end of the season and while the Nomads faithful looked forward to seeing him in action in the Blantyre derby against their age-old rivals Nyasa Big Bullets, he was not part of the team.
“He is available for selection only that we are still assessing his fitness.
“If he passes the test then he could be thrown into service this weekend against Blue Eagles [in a Carlsberg Cup match],” he said.
Last week, Wanderers general secretary (GS) Mike Butao defended the move to sign the battle-hardened striker when they already have a pool of strikers, saying they needed a hitman.
“This is a key signing for us because our strikers Amos Bello, Peter Wadabwa, Jafallie Chande and Ishmael Thindwa have all been out for a long time.
“You can see that we have been winning most of our matches by small margins. We have been too dependent on youngsters such as Precious Msosa, Julius Kajembe and Khumbo Ng’ambi to lead the line while playing our other creative players as number 10 and while they have done a brilliant job so far, we don’t want to overburden them and burn them out.”
The battle-hardened forward boasts 20 years of top level football that has seen him ply his trade in countries such as Russia, South Africa and Denmark over the years, having made a breakthrough from Dwasco (now Dwangwa United) in 2001.
Among other teams, Kanyenda has had stints with Russian giants Lokomotiv Moscow and FC Rostov, Jomo Cosmos and Polokwane City in South Africa and B93 in Denmark.
