Malawi national football team coach Ronny Van Geneugden (RVG) says apart from working on finishing, he will not alter the team’s game plan when they face Botswana on Wednesday at Seshego Stadium in their second match at the 2018 COSAFA Cup in Polokwane, South Africa.
In post-match interview after Malawi lost 1-0 to 161 ranked Mauritius on Monday, a visibly inflamed RVG did not hide his disappointment with his players’ failure to hit the target in 26 attempts, 11 on target after enjoying 65 percent ball possession.
He also was not pleased with how his defence failed to recover after Mauritius launched a counterattack that eventually led to the decisive goal in the 14th minute.
But when asked on Tuesday how he would react to such flaws, RVG said he would maintain the team but work on finishing.
He said: “We had control of the game. With the performance of the second half, we deserved to score. The chances we created were enough to score two or three goals. The players are aware that they made some mistakes. We will work on them more especially on finishing.”
Malawi is at the bottom of Group B while Mauritius are second from leaders Botswana who beat Angola 2-1.
The Flames are now under pressure as they face Botswana at Seshego after Angola and Mauritius have sorted each other out at the same venue.
Regardless of the outcome from the first match, Malawi needs to win at all cost so that the Group’s qualification should be open. A draw or loss is not an option.
“If we win, who knows, anything can happen. This is football,” said RVG.
The coach will maintain Silver Strikers goalkeeper Brighton Munthali, while captain John Lanjesi (Nyasa Big Bullets), Gomezgani Chirwa (Civil Sporting Club), Peter Cholopi (Be Forward Wanderers) and Precious Sambani (Wanderers) will be in defence.
Wanderers’ holding midfielder Rafick Namwera, John Banda (Mozambique) and Dalitso Sailesi (Zambia) will be in the midfield while, RVG will trust in three strikers Robin Ngalande (South Africa), Richard Mbulu (Portugal) and Gastin Simkonda (Moyale).
