FCB Nyasa Big Bullets first assistant coach Mike Ngore says the Airtel Top 8 quarterfinal tie against Civil Service United is far from over and we should not celebrate early.
He was reacting following our 2-0 victory as Stanley Billiat and Chawanangwa Gumbo’s first-half goals at Kamuzu Stadium on Saturday gave The People’s Team a two-goal advantage over The Servants going into the second leg.
Ngore told journalists that the return match away in Lilongwe will be open to any team.
“I don’t think we have an edge over them because it will be a new game altogether. If they came here and we scored two goals past them, they can do the same [at home]. We still have a tough task ahead of us in the second leg. It’s far from over until the final whistle at Civo Stadium, so the players shouldn’t celebrate early because this was the first half, and the second half is coming in Lilongwe,” he stated.
Commenting further on the game, Kalisto Pasuwa’s vice heaped praise on Bullets’ spirited performance, saying it wasn’t easy considering how tough Civil has become against The People’s Team.
“It looks easier after the match but it wasn’t easy. We had to fight for it. We have been playing these guys a lot, and this season, this was our third meeting across all the competitions, and there has never been an easy game against them.
“Congratulations to the players for giving it all against them to win this match. This was the first half; the second half is coming but it was good to start the campaign with a win.”
On what was the difference this time after we struggled to beat Civil at the same stage in the FDH Bank Cup last month after we also drew 1-all in the league, Ngore explained: “You know you don’t even plan on what time to score goals. What we did was to train hard and prepare for them because we knew they would come hard like they always do. We created the chances from which we scored the two important goals. Our game plan worked and we are glad to go into the second leg with a two-goal advantage,” he explained.
Ngore was also asked about Bullets’ decision to start midfielder Lloyd Aaron on the bench against his former club.
“Lloyd Aaron is also a human being. Ever since he joined us, he has been [consistently] playing games. Last week, he played 180 minutes [for Malawi], plus travelling, so we just wanted to rest him because more games are coming next week and we need his services. The decision to rest him was part of managing him to avoid injuries because we have been massively hit this season hence benching him,” he explained.
On whether Bullets can redeem themselves by defending the Airtel Top 8, after surrendering the FDH Bank Cup to Blue Eagles two weeks ago, Ngore responded: “I wouldn’t say we will redeem ourselves through this cup because every competition is tough. We are not sure if we will win it or not. Even last season, we were not sure of winning it, but we were taking it game by game, and this is exactly what we are doing this season.”
Following Saturday’s victory, Bullets will immediately switch their attention to the TNM Super League as they will host Bangwe All Stars at the Kamuzu Stadium on Thursday afternoon.
