Masters Security FC Head Coach, Abasi Makawa, gave to his charges in the last training session Monday before they face Angola’s Atletico Petroleos de Luanda at Bingu National Stadium, Lilongwe, Tuesday afternoon.
But was the message delivered to happy faces? The answer is probably no, as there were gloomy faces in Masters’ camp ahead of the Caf Confederation Cup preliminary round second-leg match.
Masters have, due to internal problems, trained from Sunday only in preparation for the match.
Having lost the first-leg 5-0 in Angola, the odds are stacked against the home side to turn the tables around.
Although admitting that morale is low among his charges, Makawa said he was working on raising the spirits among them.
“We have no plans to defend, and we will go flat out from the first whistle. We have to save the reputation of our country by beating them at home after a miserable loss in Angola,” Makawa said.
Masters have slim chances of progressing to the next round as they need to score six goals without reply. It is a tall order for the Lilongwe-based side, but nothing is impossible in football.
For example, Deportivo La Coruna produced one of the greatest comebacks in football when they beat AC Milan 4-0 in the second-leg, having lost the first-leg 4-1 in Italy in 2008.
In this afternoon’s match, Masters will pin their hopes on strikers Vincent Nyangulu, Juma Yatina, midfielder Rafik Mussa and defender Kondwani Lufeyo.
Goalkeeper Chimwemwe Kumkwawa, who reportedly had a grand game in Angola, is likely to retain his place.
But Masters must keep a close eye on the Angolan side’s attacking duo of Costa Dos Santos and Antonio Rosa, who hammered a brace and a hat-trick, respectively, in the first-leg.
All seems rosy for the visitors as they arrived in the country Monday on a chartered plane.
The team was expected to have a feel of the venue in the afternoon Monday.
Malawi’s representatives in Caf Champions League, Be Forward Wanderers, will face AS Vita of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) at the same venue in the second-leg Wednesday.
De Luanda Head Coach, Beto Bianchi, said they were not underating Masters despite having massive advantage heading into the second-leg.
“Everything is possible in football because we saw it happening last season between Barcelona and PSG in the Uefa Champions League. We are here trying to maintain our lead and qualify for the next round,” Bianchi said after training Monday.