Kalisto Pasuwa reacted to FCB Nyasa Big Bullets’ scoreless draw despite a dominant Saturday afternoon performance against TNM Super League leaders Silver Strikers at the Silver Stadium.
Bullets missed a lot of scoring opportunities in a match we needed to win to keep our league title defence hopes alive.
Reacting to the draw, Pasuwa felt The People’s Team should have won the match against Peter Mponda’s side, which has now accumulated 58 points after 26 games.
“This was a game that we missed a lot of chances, especially in the second half, when there were plenty of goal-scoring opportunities, but we failed to convert them into goals. If we were clinical, we should have won the game,” commented Pasuwa. “But again, that’s football. It happens where you do everything to win the game, but by the end of the day, you share spoils.”
Our head coach admitted that the home side dominated play in the opening minutes of the game, but noted that they did so little to trouble his team in the final third.
“Yes, we allowed them to play, but again, they dominated in areas which were not dangerous, maybe in the middle of the field. But when we came in the second half, we were very offensive, but we missed a lot of chances.
“In these games, mostly, you get one chance, you bury it, and our players, in most cases, especially in the 18-yard box, lacked the scoring technique of putting the ball behind the line, and yes, unfortunately, we earned a point today.”
Pasuwa, who won a historical quadruple last season, also had his say on the overall performance of the Central Bankers.
“They played very well. Remember the first half, they were controlling possession, but like I said, they were not doing enough in terms of coming to our last third, but came in the second half; we pushed our men up, and we were offensive, hence creating those chances.”
Failure to win the game means Bullets are out of the championship race with 13 points behind the Central Bankers and four games left to play. However, Pasuwa refused to throw in the towel even though he admitted that reducing a 13-point gap is not an easy task.
“I am still playing games until the final game. I will come back to you and comment on the outcome of the race, even though it’s too heavy to catch them with such a massive lead over us, but that’s what football is all about. If one team can score 26 goals, it can happen.”
Bullets are third in the standings with 45 points from 26 games.
In a quest for a better position in the table, The People’s Team will be looking for three points over Civil Service United on Wednesday, before returning to Blantyre for another away fixture at FOMO on Sunday.
