Why Wanderers coach believes despite loss
It is tough picking positives from a rabble of three consecutive defeats, but for coach Gerald Phiri, one statistic justified doing that after his Mighty Wanderers’ 1-0 TNM Super League loss to Red Lions on Wednesday.
“I am happy with the way we played and not the result. Today, we forgot our scoring boots. They defended for 90 minutes and it is part of the game. We were able to create scoring opportunities and we should have won 7-1,” said Phiri in a post-match interview at Kamuzu Stadium.
Indeed, after referee Keston Mnenula’s final whistle, Mphatso Ngwira’s solitary strike separated the two teams, but statistics seemed to agree with the former Bullets coach, Phiri.
The match figures which The Nation gathered favoured the Nomads who could not just get a way beyond man-of- the-match goalkeeper Jacob Kaunda.
Nine corner kicks against seven for the soldiers, three balls cleared off the line versus none and eight free kicks against seven, told the story of the Nomads’ frustrating afternoon.
Wanderers had 10 shots on target against nine for the Lions. The Nomads also dominated with six shots off target against five for the Lions who were never caught offside. Wanderers had three off side calls.
“We were coming from defeats and we had to do all we could to win this,” Kaunda said in a post-match interview after his side’s suffocating defensive tactics, physical and aerial play foiled the Nomads’ passing game.
Wanderers strikers Victor Mpinganjira and Diverson Chilemba registered the worst misses where Kaunda made unbelievable telling one-hand saves. Wanderers are second from the bottom with a point from seven games after six points were deducted whereas the Lions lie sixth on 13 points.
