Gaba boosts Malawi’s chances

The performance might not have been vintage but the currency of football is scoring goals and the Flames did just that yesterday when wonderboy Gabadinho Mhango’s double against Chad put them within sniffing distance of qualifying for the final preliminary round of the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations.

Such is the beauty and power of football that the 2-0 victory unified the home fans who turned Kamuzu Stadium into a theatre of celebrations three days before the tripartite elections.

It was Flames’ first victory in nine months as they last won 1-0 against Rwanda in a friendly on August 15 last year. It also provided relief for coach Young Chimodzi who registered a win in his first competitive game after going down 1-4 to Zimbabwe’s Warriors before holding Tanzania’s Taifa Stars to a goalless draw in strength-testing matches.

The Flames will go to Nd’jamena for the return leg in two weeks’ time carrying a comfortable 2-0 lead, but Chimodzi sounded a word of caution yesterday, saying the battle is not yet over.

The Flames’ plan was to strike early to unsettle their West African opponents and it worked to perfection. Just six minutes after kick off, after shrugging off some early lethargy, the Flames surged ahead and it came from none other than Gabadinho who lived to his word to transform club form to national duty.

A free-kick awarded by Namibian referee Rainhold Shikongo outside the 18-yard box was curled with precision by midfielder Joseph Kamwendo and it squirmed past helpless Chad goalkeeper Mbiramadji Dillah hitting the crossbar in the process and like a sneak thief, Gabadinho ghosted in to provide the final flourish from the rebound with a tap in.

But sadly, from then on, the match failed to stir the passions as the visitors played a dour kick-and-rush game that failed to justify the presence of their predominantly Europe-based players.

The Flames were also horribly fragile in midfield, the main culprit being attacking midfielder Rodrick Gonani who failed to tick, rendering the frontline that had Gabadinho and Atusaye Nyondo, useless.

Chad found a fruitful avenue on the right where Morgan Betotorangal, who had a grand game, kept busy the Flames rearguard marshalled by Harry Nyirenda.

And despite some flashes of individual brilliance, Kamwendo and Chimango Kayira also struggled in the first-half and the tempo only changed in the second-half when Gonani was taken off stage for Frank Banda.

In the last 20 minutes, the Flames turned on the magic with Gabadinho and his mesh hurling themselves forward as the home crowd urged them for the killer punch.

Cometh the 74th minute, cometh the man. Gabadinho pounced on a defensive blunder by Chad’s towering defender Kelvin Jatila and then he made a solo run on the right flank to cooly dispatch the ball past the Chad keeper to send the fans into ecstasy—no fuss, no panic, job done and the Flames were in comfort zone.

However, Chimodzi was cautious, saying: “It’s good that we’ll be going to Chad carrying a two-goal lead, but we are not there yet. There are still a lot of areas to work on.

“In the first half, we failed to build up any meaningful attacks and the midfield did not tick because of one player who was out of the game. We have to polish up the weak areas.”

Chad’s French coach Emmanuel Trigoat admitted that his charges have a tall order going into the return leg.

“Of course, we’ll be playing at home, but it will be difficult for us because we are two goals down and Malawi is a good team,” said Trigoat.

The return leg is set for end May and the winner will face the victor between Benin and Sao Tome.