Malawi beat Zambia in Cosafa opener
A youthful Flames side yesterday gave Malawians an Independence Day gift after overcoming Hollywoodbets Cosafa Cup defending champions Zambia 1-0 at King Zwelithini Stadium in Umlazi Township in Durban, South Africa.
An own-goal from Zambia defender Aaron Katebe gave Malawi a precious victory that might prove decisive in the team’s quest for the first knockout stage qualification since 2019.
Interim coach Patrick Mabedi said losing on Malawian’s Independence Day was not an option.
The former Kaizer Chiefs coach started first choice goalkeeper Brighton Munthali, right back Stanley Sanudi, Nickson Mwase and Dennis Chembezi in central defence while Alick Lungu played on the leftback position.
Lloyd Aaron partnered Chimwemwe Idana in midfield while Robert Saizi was on the right wing and Chawanangwa Kaonga played wide on the left.
Lanjesi Nkhoma and Christopher Kumwembe led the attack.
Joint TNM Super League current joint top scorer Lanjesi Nkhoma played behind Zambia-based Chawanangwa Kaonga and Christopher Kumwembe.
The team played a 3-5-2 formation, a system that gives more room for adjustments to 4-4-2 or 4-5-1, both when attacking and defending.
That is the formation that gave the Zambians a tough time as the Flames tormented Chipolopolo at will.
No wonder Zambia ended up conceding an own goal after two consecutive corners from Saizi.
However, Comoros are on top of Group B following their 3-0 victory over Seychelles.
They top the pool with three points followed by Malawi on second and Zambia on third while Seychelles are fourth.
In a post-match interview, Mabedi saluted his charges for breaking the jinx.
“You can’t believe this that we had one training session. It’s amazing these guys put up a good effort and worked so hard as there was a lot at stake as Malawi was celebrating Independence Day today. We had to stop the losing curse to Zambia. I told the players to go out and play,” he said.
Zambia’s assistant coach Moses Sichone, who has taken charge of the team, said: “Malawi deserved to win. They played better than us. We made a lot of mistakes and we were punished.”
On Sunday, Malawi face Seychelles and wraup their group matches on Tuesday.
