FCB Nyasa Big Bullets head coach Kalisto Pasuwa says he anticipates a very charged Blue Eagles when the two teams battle for the FDH Bank Cup glory at the Bingu National Stadium on Sunday.
Pasuwa, who won every domestic trophy last season, believes that the opposition, currently playing in the Chipiku Central Region Football League, the second tier of Malawi football, will come hard on the defending champions.
“Lower division is just a name and if you can see the names, I am seeing the same players we faced before they got relegated. So, it’s not to say we are playing a lower division team, and because they are enjoying good form, it means they are playing [good] football, and we must be very careful when playing against them tomorrow,” he told the press in Lilongwe.
The 2023 quadruple-winning coach also gave an update on how his team has prepared for the final as Bullets eye a third successive FDH Bank Cup.
“Remember, we have just come out of the CAF Champions League and it hasn’t been a smooth road for us in terms of how our supporters are used to. But again, we have been trying to sort out some of the problems we have been having in camp.
“As you know, we had so many injuries among the players, hence finding it difficult to find the right combinations, but we are in the final, and these boys came far. They know where they are coming from and it hasn’t been an easy road for us to be in the final. I hope they won’t take this game lightly because for them to be in the final, it means they have been doing good. We are meeting a good team, and we need to be in the right sense of mood for us to be on a positive note.”
On facing a side that is unbeaten in a cup final against the Malawi champions, having lost to the Area 30 side in the Airtel Top 8 final in 2018, Pasuwa encouraged his players to write their history.
“As Bullets, I have been talking to the boys to make their history because we had some players who are no longer active, and they made history; it was not their names. These current players should make history for themselves and be part of a team that has beaten Blue Eagles [in a cup final]. For us to do that, we need to be in the right sense of mind to do everything positive and to avoid complacency.
“The players shouldn’t see Blue Eagles as a team from the lower division, they should see their opponents as a team that is also hungry for success so that by the end of it all, we should be able to defend the cup.”
The Zimbabwean also spoke about the ‘giant tag’ placed on his team against Eliah Kananji’s side, admitting that this might influence his players to go into the match with a mentality of underestimating their opponent.
“The only part that I am afraid of is this tag of being a giant. Everyone, even yourself, you have said we are giants. In this final, there is nothing like a giant. It’s a cup final like I said, you look on the road which they came through, and they were beating bigger teams, and in the final, we need to be very okay for us to go over them.”
Bullets captain Gomezgani Chirwa also had a minute to talk to the press and e said: “The morale is high considering that we are coming from a [CAF] Champions League defeat and we have moved on from that disappointing result to focus on this game. It’s another game that will bring us back to the glory days by winning the cup.
“We are well prepared. The coach highlighted some of the problems we encountered against Red Arrows in CAF and we can’t underestimate Blue Eagles because they are playing in the lower league. We are angry and hungry for success so that we win this cup.”
