{"id":77858,"date":"2019-05-11T06:31:20","date_gmt":"2019-05-11T04:31:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.times.mw\/?p=77858"},"modified":"2019-05-11T06:31:20","modified_gmt":"2019-05-11T04:31:20","slug":"flames-line-up-injury-hit-squad-against-eswatini-in-must-win-match","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.times.mw\/index.php\/2019\/05\/11\/flames-line-up-injury-hit-squad-against-eswatini-in-must-win-match\/","title":{"rendered":"Flames line up injury-hit squad against eSwatini in must-win match"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Williams Gondwa:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>After a fruitless campaign in the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, Malawi national football team has a chance to restore its battered reputation against eSwatini in the second leg of the 2020 African Nations Championship at Kamuzu Stadium this afternoon.<\/p>\n

Having played out a goalless draw in the first leg at Mavuso Sports Centre in Manzini last month, the tie is wide open for both teams.<\/p>\n

The Flames need a win at all cost if they are to progress in the continental competition.<\/p>\n

But any scoring draw would be enough for eSwatini to boot out Malawi and advance.<\/p>\n

Despite suffering some injury setbacks<\/a> ahead of the game, Flames Coach Meke Mwase says utilising home ground advantage will be key to qualifying for the next round.<\/p>\n

Malawi\u2019s injury woes worsened after midfielder Chikoti Chirwa was also ruled out after suffering a knee injury during training.<\/p>\n

But Mwase said he has replaced Chirwa with Nyasa Big Bullets veteran midfielder, Chimango Kayira.<\/p>\n

The TN Stars Coach said he has also called up Blue Eagles midfielder Gregory Nachipo to beef up the squad.<\/p>\n

He said the duo will add value to the Flames having played for the national team before.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is always disappointing to lose key players such as Peter Cholopi, Alfred Manyozo, Chikoti Chirwa and Patrick Phiri who were on the starting line up during our first game.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cBut all in all, we have to rely on players who are available. As for Chimango and Nachipo, these are players who know what to expect from an international match,\u201d<\/em> Mwase said.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

He said the Flames\u2019 game plan will prioritise attacking and getting a goal within the first twenty minutes.<\/p>\n

In the absence of the injured legion, Mwase has several options in Micium Mhone, Chimwemwe Idana, Mike Mkwate and Kaira in midfield.<\/p>\n

Khuda Muyaba, Chiukepo Msowoya and Schumaker Kuwali could be featured upfront to bang in the much needed goals.<\/p>\n

Flames captain, John Lanjesi, said the players are ready to bring smiles on Malawians\u2019 faces.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are just asking them to come in large numbers. I know we have not been performing well during our past games but as players, we have sat down and discussed how we can win against eSwatini,\u201d<\/em> Lanjesi said.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Meanwhile, eSwatini arrived yesterday evening with Coach Kosta Papic, who also coached South Africa Premier Soccer League giants Orlando Pirates, admitting that the Flames were tough during the first leg draw.<\/p>\n

The Serbian, having taken over the side last year, is however confident that his players can upset Malawi.<\/p>\n

The winner between Malawi and eSwatini<\/a> will meet Angola in the second round in July.<\/p>\n

In 2017, the Flames were booted out of the competition in the first round when they lost to Madagascar 2-0 on goal aggregate.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Williams Gondwa: After a fruitless campaign in the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, Malawi national football team has a chance to restore its battered reputation against eSwatini in the second leg of the 2020 African Nations Championship at Kamuzu Stadium this afternoon. Having played out a goalless draw in the first leg at […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":77862,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-77858","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.times.mw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77858","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.times.mw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.times.mw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.times.mw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.times.mw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=77858"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/archive.times.mw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77858\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":77863,"href":"https:\/\/archive.times.mw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77858\/revisions\/77863"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.times.mw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/77862"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.times.mw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=77858"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.times.mw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=77858"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.times.mw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=77858"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}