Kalisto Pasuwa provided his reaction after FCB Nyasa Big Bullets returned to winning ways with a 2-0 win over Mzuzu City Hammers in the TNM Super League at Kamuzu Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
The People’s Team recorded the victory, our third this season, coming from two back-to-back 1-all draws against Mighty Mukuru Wanderers at home and Mafco FC away in Dwangwa.
Chawanangwa Gumbo and Patrick Mwaungulu found the back of the net in each half on an afternoon Bullets struggled to contain Hammers, especially in the opening period, before an improved second-half performance that secured us all the points to move second in the standings with 13 points from the possible 21.
Pasuwa told journalists on Saturday afternoon that the only way for the 2023 quadruple winners to regain dominance is for his players to start respecting every opposition, saying underestimating some teams has seen Bullets dropping down when it matters most.
“It’s the attitude from our boys where at times they underate teams. You saw our center-backs trying to dribble at the back and you can’t be doing that at this level of football. We need to be very careful; we need to respect these other teams that are coming at us.”
Bullets made some defensive errors that could have cost us the game in the opening period, losing possession in the area several times only to be saved by goalkeeper Richard Chimbamba and the visitors’ wastefulness in front of the goal, which forced Pasuwa to withdraw Zimbabwean defender Collin Mujuru for Yamikani Mologeni before the half-time break.
“Remember this is a team that was second in the table before facing us and we play against them, trying to do funny things in front of them and the result will see them punishing us. We need to respect any opposition because there is no smaller team in the league,” he reacted.
The head coach further provided his analysis of the game, saluting his charges for fighting hard to get all the points.
“The good thing is that we settled well and fought hard for the points against a very good team. We got the goals that we needed to collect the three points,” he added. “We will get there and I am very optimistic that sooner or later, we will be able to play our game.”
The tactician went on to downplay pressure on his team, saying it was too early to start panicking because there was still a long way to go.
“We are starting the season where we have only played seven games. We can’t be talking about anything. Remember, this is a new team we are rebuilding [and] several of my players are still out, nursing injuries. And, we are trying different combinations using the players we promoted from our reserves and new players we bought from other teams and as you can see, we are trying to bring in some combinations so that we come up with a strong team. It will come good,” assured Pasuwa.
Bullets will switch focus to the Northern Region trip for our eighth game of the campaign against Moyale Barracks at Mzuzu Stadium on Sunday.
