Flames’ Afcon dream over
Malawi National Football Team’s dream of back-to-back qualification to the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) finals is over after Ethiopia held them to a goalless draw yesterday in a Group D qualifier at Zimpeto Stadium in Maputo, Mozambique.
In a match monitored on SuperSport, the Flames, who needed to win at all cost to remain in contention for the remaining slot in the group, botched it up by allowing Ethiopia, who were already eliminated, to force a draw.
The result means Guinea have qualified for the 2023 Ivory Coast Afcon finals as runners-up alongside group winners Egypt and their last qualifier against the Flames in September will be a dead rubber.
Interim coach Patrick Mabedi went into the match, which was his first competitive assignment since taking from Romanian Mario Marinica, confident of keeping the Flames in the race for qualification.
The coach maintained the same 4-3-3 formation he used against Mozambique with Brighton Munthali in goals, Stanley Sanudi as right back and Alick Lungu as left back while Denis Chembezi and Nickson Mwase played in central defence.
CJ Banda, Chimwemwe Idana and Chester played in the midfield while Chawanangwa Kaonga, Richard Mbulu and Lanjesi Nkhoma, who scored against Mozambique, started upfront.
Though Malawi was the one contesting for the remaining slot of the group’s qualification, it was Ethiopia that showed more hunger and enjoyed more possession at 62 percent.
The Ethiopians, who used the venue as their home ground, controlled the tempo of the game while Malawi were second on the ball.
The Flames had four shots on target which were easily stopped by goalkeeper Seid Habtamu Aregawi, including a Nickson Mwase’s fine header from Kaonga set piece just before half-time.
In the second-half, Mabedi introduced Gaddie Chirwa for Kaonga while Chikumbutso Salima came in for Chester.
But the Ethiopians also stepped up their game and could easily have taken the lead had it not been for Munthali, who was alert to make timely saves to deny Shemeles Bekele and Yosef Tarekegn Mekonnen.
Mabedi made more substitutions by introducing Chifundo Mphasi for Mbulu while Lloyd Njaliwa came in for Idana, but the slow start in the first-half proved costly as no goals came forth.
In post match interviews Mabedi said they players did not follow his game plan.
He said: “The problem is we sat back a bit and we couldn’t take the game to them. We gave them space. We were supposed to know that we needed it most. “But it seems Ethiopia played like they were the ones that needed it most. In the end, they even looked better. So, I think it’s all about commitment.”
