Flames Team Manager, James Sangala, has said the Flames’ participation in the Cosafa Castle Cup tournament in Polokwane, South Africa, was a good rehearsal for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifiers.
The Flames bowed out of the regional tournament in the quarterfinals after registering two draws and a loss to finish bottom of Group B.
Malawi started the competition with a 1-0 loss to Mauritius before giving away a 1-0 lead in the dying minutes to draw 1-1 against Botswana.
Ronny van Geneugden’s charges finished the tournament with a 0-0 stalemate against Angola on Friday to book themselves tickets for an early home return.
But speaking as the team returned home on Saturday through Chileka International Airport in Blantyre, Sangala said the technical panel will sit down to conduct a post-mortem of what went wrong for the team to flop again in South Africa after last year’s disappointment.
“We had two objectives as we went out to play in South Africa. We wanted to either win the competition or help players to gain experience for upcoming assignments. The first objective failed but we have managed to fulfil the second objective.
“The team has improved greatly but it is the same problem that we have always had which has seen us return home disappointed. We are failing to score. But now that we are back home, we will find ways of working on it,” Sangala said.
The Flames are expected to play Morocco and Cameroon in September in the Afcon qualifiers.
Unlike last year when they returned home after failing to find the back of the net in three matches, Malawi managed to score a goal against Botswana through defender Precious Sambani.
“This time, we cannot blame Football Association of Malawi because they gave the team all the necessary support including international friendlies on Fifa calendar dates.
“But the one positive with the team is that it has improved. Officials from Zambia and South Africa were happy that we were booted out, saying we could have been a thorn in their flesh if we progressed to the next level,” Sangala added.
Malawi finished bottom of Group B with two points.
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