Kalisto Pasuwa was encouraged by FCB Nyasa Big Bullets’ 1-0 victory away at Baka City in the TNM Super League at Karonga Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
Bullets had to rely on the home side’s own goal in the 42nd minute to collect all three points over the Clever Boys at Karonga Stadium in the 3:00 PM kick-off.
Nelson Sikaona’s OG earned us a third straight victory in the current campaign as we moved up to fifth position in the table.
While admitting that his players were ‘too hesitant’ to attack in the hard-earned win over the plucky Clever Boys, Pasuwa told journalists that collecting all the points in Karonga was a morale booster as Bullets needed it the most.
“One of those games where we needed it most. Remember, we are coming from a scenario where every time we play, we always lose confidence, but we’re coming from two wins that gave us confidence.
“Today, we came against Baka City away from home, and I could see the players too hesitant to attack, getting into the attacking third of the opposition, and we had to fill entries in the opposition half, but we did well through a single goal that has won us points. This will boost the players’ morale further,” said our head coach in his post-match interview.
When asked to explain why Bullets were hesitant to attack, Pasuwa said it was because the team had been conceding goals in transition lately.
“We have been conceding goals through transition where we attack and then caught on the break, and you could see how some of the players who were supposed to push up, were just roaming around the same position as they were afraid of attacking to avoid conceding goals and by doing so, we were not attacking and we allowed the opposition to be on top of us,” he commented.
The 2023 quadruple-winning coach made several changes to the squad that beat Creck Sporting Club 3-2 at Kamuzu Stadium last Thursday, saying some of the players needed a rest after playing too many games since the start of the campaign.
“You see, the problem that we are having in our camp is having players who have played more games without resting. Some of these players, like Frank Willard, are coming from a serious injury. He had been out of action for months, and we had to rest him. We also had Ernest Petro, who has just recovered, and we couldn’t make him play for two consecutive games.
“We also have Gomezgani Chirwa, who has played in every game ranging from the CAF Champions League, [domestic] cup games and all our 19 league games [before facing Baka]. We also wanted to manage him so he could recover and stay long on the pitch in the next games,” explained Pasuwa.
Before returning to Blantyre, The People’s Team will stop in Mzuzu for another league game against Mzuzu City Hammers at Mzuzu Stadium on Wednesday.
Victory against the Hammers in our 21st fixture of the league campaign this term will see the defending champions moving third in the standings with 33 points.
The defending champions are fifth in the standings with 33 points from 20 games.
