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| Sports |
| Malawi edge Botswana |
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by
Garry Chirwa, 02 December 2003
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15:15:59
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The Joseph Ks’ magic. Midfielders Joseph Kamwendo and namesake Joseph Kachule struck a goal each against Botswana Under-20 national soccer team on Monday afternoon to give Malawi a ray of hope in the on-going Cosafa Under-20 showpiece in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Following the 2-1 victory over the Tswanas at Eldorado Stadium, Malawi need to beat Madagascar this afternoon to earn an automatic qualification into the semis as the best runners-up.
Leader of delegation Steve Msambila said in a telephone interview from Johannesburg on Tuesday that it is a necessity that Malawi beat Madagascar at Orlando Stadium to sail through.
“Following our victory against Botswana, a silver lining has appeared on the dark clouds hovering above us. We now have some hope because if we win, then we’ll qualify as the best runners-up,” said Msambila.
However, Msambila said it will certainly not be a stroll in the park for Malawi this afternoon because three of their key players namely Joseph Kamwendo, Tendai ‘Tegu’ Mbisa and Jacob Ngwira will not be on show having been shown two yellow cards.
“That is our biggest problem ahead of the crucial match against Madagascar but we are hoping that the lads who will be selected to carry the burden will do a good job,” said Msambila.
The Fam official said Malawi led 1-0 at half time courtesy of Kachule’s marvellous 25-metre drive which arced beyond the Tswana’s goal tender.
“It was a very beautiful goal which stunned the crowd and it fired up the boys. In the second half we extended the lead when Kamwendo connected home Mbisa’s free-kick.
“But from then on we played under intense pressure and they hit one back through a penalty following a crunch tackle in the box. They should have scored even two more goals but thanks to brilliant goal-keeping by Bright Nyirongo,” said Msambila.
Malawi, who lost their first group B match 4-1 to Zambia, are second in the group with three points from two games.
Zambia are topping the chart with six points following a 3-1 victory over Madagascar in the second game on Monday while Botswana and Madagascar are at the bottom with a point each but the former has a better goal difference.
In Group A, South Africa are at the summit with four points from two games followed by Mozambique and Mauritius who have two points each while Swaziland has a miserable single point.
Angola are leading Group C with four points from two games followed by Namibia and Lesotho who both have two points while defending champions Zimbabwe are anchoring the group with a single point from the same number of games.
The three top teams from each group and the best runner-up will qualify for the semis. Malawi, therefore, has an edge over the other second positioned teams who have lesser points.
Malawi’s line-up was as follows: Bright Nyirongo, Bothwell Saka, James Sangala, Douglas Masiye (Chikumbutso Kanyenda), Bernard Kalirani, Jacob Ngwira, Joseph Kachule, Joseph Kamwendo, Tendai Mbisa (Dave Moya), Zwange Gondwe, Jimmy Zakazaka (Gift Makoloni).
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