Kalisto Pasuwa was impressed with FCB Nyasa Big Bullets’ improved performance following the 3-0 hammering of Balaka FC to book a quarterfinal slot in the FDH Bank Cup at Balaka Stadium on Sunday.
The People’s Team gave out a spirited performance to advance into the next phase of the competition through Patrick Mwaungulu, Nickson Nyasulu and Hassan Kajoke’s goals.
Pasuwa, who saw his players struggling for possession last week when they came from behind to draw 2-2 against Dedza Dynamos in the TNM Super League, was happy with how Bullets got comfortable with the ball away against the non-league side.
“A game where we faced youngsters full of energy and wanted to frustrate us by keeping us out of the attacking area until when we scored our goal towards the end of the first half and started penetrating the most critical area of the match.
“Last time when we played [Dedza Dynamos], the players did not have confidence, but today, you could see that my boys were comfortable with the ball and dominated possession from the onset. When caught off guard, we were taking few seconds to win back the ball, which was a positive sign although we could have done more in terms of our attacking prowess. All in all, I am happy that we got the result and we are into the last eight,” Pasuwa commented in his post-match interview.
He was quick to admit that it will be a tough campaign in the competition as more teams will come hard to take the Cup away from the defending champions.
“It’s going to be tough for us. You saw how a premier division side faced us head-on by playing very well and this means the going will get tougher because, in a knockout competition, any team can emerge winners, so we need to step up, raise our game and stay positive in whatever we do as a team.”
Pasuwa went on to heap praise on the performance of Precious Phiri, who replaced was given a place in the starting XI to replace injured right wing-back Gomezgani Chirwa.
“That’s one area we have been working on. As you can see, we had some of the boys going to COSAFA, but we kept playing games. We need a scenario where, in every position, we have two to three quality players to keep the team moving even if we can have injuries or national team engagements.
“At this particular moment, we are having so many injuries, especially in our defence, and today, Yamikani Fodya just sustained a knee injury, so having depth would be a plus for us. You saw how Precious Phiri performed today where we couldn’t feel the gap of not having Gomezgani because his replacement did well in terms of both attacking and defending, so big up to him for such a highly spirited performance.”
