FCB Nyasa Big Bullets head coach Kalisto Pasuwa provided his reaction after the TNM Super League defending champions came from behind to secure a point following a 1-1 draw against Ekwendeni Hammers on Saturday afternoon.
The Zimbabwean hailed his players for their endurance after they played a third competitive game within seven days.
The People’s Team faced Ekwendeni 72 hours after defeating Civil Service United 2-0 in the Airtel Top 8 quarterfinal first leg in Lilongwe, four days after defending the FDH Bank Cup following a 3-0 triumph over Mafco FC in the capital.
“We have dropped two points, but we are in a race where we are competing, and we can’t be talking about negatives. I think I should talk more about the positives because my players have endured a very difficult period where they have played three big games in the shortest period of seven days.
“They have been travelling long distances to play games and I expected this to happen, but we will get there. I am very happy with how the boys have come out of this period,” he said in his post-match reaction at Rumphi Stadium.
Providing his analysis on the performance of Bullets against the 13th-placed Hammers, Pasuwa admitted that Bullets could not adapt to the condition of the pitch and the heavy winds over the playing field.
“It was a very scrappy game where we didn’t do enough in terms of play. We were always pumping the ball forward, but again, we were failing second balls. Those are some of the games that I have been talking about.
“We will face these kinds of circumstances, hence the need for us to master how we can handle these games, especially when we are playing on bumpy and dry pitches so that we fare very well,” he explained.
With Moyale Barracks in sight at the same venue on Tuesday, the gaffer says he will push his players to do more, but he was very quick to acknowledge that his players are tired.
“Definitely, we need to do more so that we get all the points on Tuesday, but mostly, it’s the recovery part of it that we are still working on. We are not doing much in terms of training as you know we have been travelling and this is affecting us too much, so we need them to have enough recovery because they are really tired.”
The match on Tuesday, our 21st TNM Super League fixture, will also be the first-ever meeting between the two teams at Rumphi Stadium.
Bullets currently sit second in the standings with 43 points, four behind Mighty Mukuru Wanderers, who have played 24 games.
