Kalisto Pasuwa says FCB Nyasa Big Bullets must quickly shift focus from Sunday’s 3-0 triumph over Mafco FC in the FDH Bank Cup final at the Bingu National Stadium.
The People’s Team hammered Mafco to defend the cup they won last year courtesy of a first-half brace from Lanjesi Nkhoma and a lone strike from Ephraim Kondowe in the second half.
This was Bullets’ first of the four games coming up in the next ten days.
Maule will face Civil Service United in the Airtel Top 8 quarter-final first leg on Wednesday at Civo Stadium before proceeding to the North to play Ekwendeni Hammers on Saturday and Moyale Barracks on Tuesday in the TNM Super League at Rumphi Stadium.
Addressing the media after Sunday’s victory, Pasuwa said his mind is already on the next cup game and urged his players to do the same and forget about the FDH Bank Cup.
“As a coach, my mind is already thinking about the Airtel Top 8 Cup match on Wednesday. I would also advise the players to do the same because we have more games coming up and we need to remain focused so that we get something out of these games,” he said.
Commenting on Sunday’s encounter, which saw him winning his tenth silverware with the Malawi champions, Pasuwa revealed that he pushed his players to unsettle the opponents by scoring early in the half to stop Mafco from capitalizing on the level of fatigue in his camp.
“We have been talking of tiredness in the team and we had to give intensity in the early minutes of the match to score early and we did exactly that because failure to do so would have seen them pouncing on us.
“When we scored, we tried to manage the game, and we were 2-0 up in the first half. In the second half, we got another goal, and that’s how you kill off cup games,” explained the Zimbabwean.
The tactician defended his decision to leave several of his first-team players on the bench by handing starts to Ephraim Kondowe who has been coming on from the bench in all previous games, and Stanley Billiat, who just recovered from an injury.
“Football is evolving. Remember, we have been playing games in which some of these players have been playing regularly hence the need to manage them for us to finish the games that are coming ahead. In playing so many games, we need to give more playing minutes to each player that we registered. We have been telling them to use their chances to prove to us that they are part of the team.
“The players we used [against Mafco] did a very good job by playing to the instructions. Ephraim was top-notch, Billiat had an assist, and everyone played the game so well.”
Bullets will remain in Lilongwe for Wednesday’s match and then travel to Mzuzu on Thursday morning for the two league matches.
