Kalisto Pasuwa maintains he will not be afraid to use every player of his FCB Nyasa Big Bullets squad over the hectic schedule.
Pasuwa was reacting after Bullets’ 2-0 victory over Civil Service United in the Airtel Top 8 quarterfinal first leg as he made seven changes to the side that defeated Mafco FC 3-0 to retain the FDH Bank Cup on Sunday.
McFallen Mgwira, Maxwell Phodo, Nickson Nyasulu, Collins Okumu, Eric Kaonga, Blessings Mpokera and Anthony Mfune replaced Clyde Senaji, Yamikani Fodya, Gomezgani Chirwa, Frank Willard, Lanjesi Nkhoma, Patrick Mwaungulu and Ephraim Kondowe in the starting XI.
The People’s Team, despite those changes, produced another excellent performance to record a vital victory away from home through a strike in each half from Phodo and Hassan Kajoke to take a massive two-goal advantage ahead of the decisive second leg match at Kamuzu Stadium later this month.
He told the media after Wednesday’s match: “The secret is not to be afraid of using every player whom we signed and registered for the club. We need every player to be prepared to play and I talked about this when we were in the pre-season.
“I [have] kept on changing line ups and people [have been] complaining, but again, I know how much we play games where we can have four games within the shortest period and I had to prepare my players for this [tight schedule].
“We [have] also considered the fact that we play on hard surfaces, something very hard for players to survive, hence the need to manage them so that they finish the season,” he explained why he almost changed the whole squad that started in the FDH Bank Cup final three days ago.
Commenting on the overall performance of Bullets over the Servants, Pasuwa was so impressed with how they picked up despite starting the match at a very slow pace.
“[It’s] a game that we played with a different intensity [as] we started very slowly then we raised and managed to get a goal in the first half, managed our lead before scoring our second goal in the final half, something good for a cup game. I am very pleased with how the players adjusted at a rough surface to get an important win,” he explained.
As The People’s Team will be travelling up North for two TNM Super League fixtures, the gaffer was quick to warn his charges to anticipate a tough outing against Ekwendeni Hammers and Moyale Barracks, saying Wednesday’s win shouldn’t make them complacent.
“My players should move on from this win and anticipate very difficult games in the North. We have been traveling a lot and traveling is also part of training. These days we are no longer doing our normal training sessions as we are focusing more on recovery. But this shouldn’t make the players forget that there is a lot of work to do. We need to get ready for Ekwendeni and Moyale so that we keep on doing well.”
After the trip to the North, Bullets will return to Blantyre to face Lipulumundu FC in the Castel Cup round of 64 at Kamuzu Stadium on 25 October.
