Kalisto Pasuwa says FCB Nyasa Big Bullets must prepare well for the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League return leg against Red Arrows in Lusaka on Saturday.
Courtesy of Babatunde Adepoju and Precious Phiri’s strikes, The People’s Team came from behind to beat the Zambian champions 2-1 at the Bingu National Stadium in Lilongwe to go into the second leg with a one-goal advantage.
Reacting to Sunday’s result, Pasuwa was happy to record another African football victory but told the press after the match that Bullets anticipate a tough assignment away at the National Heroes Stadium.
“[Yes it’s going to be a [very tough outing for the boys against tough opponents in their backyard. We need to prepare well for the battle ahead. We have a plan B for it and the only thing that we need to talk to our boys about is the hostile environment of playing at Heroes Stadium.
“However, the majority of these players are used to playing under such difficult circumstances. We experienced the same situation against TP Mazembe in which the game was completed after 20 minutes when they scored four goals [away in Lubumbashi], and I think the players learnt their lessons and they know what they are going to experience in Zambia,” responded Pasuwa when asked about his expectations travelling to Lusaka.
Providing his analysis of the first leg tie in Lilongwe, where we recorded our second victory in the CAF Champions League, our gaffer described the tie as difficult for his players, who responded after going down in the second half to stage the comeback.
“[It was] a game we gave the opponents so much respect. We were sitting deep, and when they scored us, we added numbers in terms of attack, and yes, we got the two goals. They were very tactical opponents who were able to keep the ball away from us, and we were dropping to get the ball in our defensive zone,e, and we wanted to catch them on the break.
“The second half, the boys came good, we were pressing them high and we got the goals. It was a game of tactics but very tough for us as the home team. Glad that we won the game,” explained Pasuwa.
The tactician also defended his decision to drop Frank Willard to the bench, saying the team was playing at home and there was no need to play the match with two midfielders with the same type of play, having started Yankho Singo, Lloyd Aaron and Ronald Chitiyo in the middle of the park.
“It’s not to say that Willard is the only reliable player. Every player at Bullets is reliable and Willard plays similar football to Lloyd Aaron. They both sit to defend. Then we were playing at home, so why should we use two defending midfielders?
He added: “We couldn’t do that. We needed to move the ball with pace in attack by having a number 8 to attack box-to-box and a number 6 to protect the central midfield. It would have made sense if we were playing away from home where we could use two defending midfielders who play side by side.”
The 2023 quadruple-winning coach also provided his thoughts on the goal we conceded against the Airmen.
“That’s the most painful thing in football where one mistake, you are punished, and that’s what the Champions League is all about. It’s good that they know that with this goal, we can be punished further. We need to work on this because if you have watched the goals that we have been conceding, they are similar. We have tried to talk to our central defenders to work on this and also, we thought that having one of the experienced players in the team would make us very solid, but we are still not good enough to defend our goal.
“The problem we are having at the moment is injuries where a player comes in and plays one or two games and the next thing, he is out injured, and the next game, we use a different player, trying to change combinations. In doing so, we are failing to find someone who can lead that defense hence at times, you see us putting Gomezgani Chirwa in the central defence.”
For the first, Pasuwa was asked about left-back Precious Sambani, who didn’t train with the team for almost 2 weeks due to personal reasons and only returned in the build-up to the start of our continental campaign.
“He played very well. He showed maturity in him and he was able to handle pressure. I talked to the boy and he contained it. It’s only maybe match fitness that was lacking in him but he did very well.”
Pasuwa and his players will now switch their attention to the semi-finals of the FDH Bank Cup as we will face Moyale Barracks under floodlights at the Bingu National Stadium on Wednesday evening before flying to Zambia.
