Malawi coach Meck Mwase has said complacency must have contributed to his team’s 2-2 draw with Zimbabwe at the Cosafa Cup in South Africa on Friday.
“Yes, a very good game. In the first-half, we said if we are to score, we have to score early and we did. In the second-half, we also scored but may be when we scored two goals, we thought the game was over, but it wasn’t like that,” Mwase told SuperSport Television in a post-match interview.
He said the Flames made defensive mistakes that were costly at Isaac Wolfson Stadium in the Group B clash.
The Flames seemed in control as they led after Khuda Muyaba and Schumacher Kuwali’s 27th and 50th minutes goals.
However, Zimbabwe crawled their way back into the game after coach Zdravko Logarusic’s tactical substitutions and a tweak of formation.
Little wonder, Blessing Sarupinda and Patrick Musaka scored in the 62nd and 79th minutes for the Warriors to level matters.
Logarusic has since hailed his team for the fighting spirit. Zimbabwe also drew 0-0 with Mozambique in the group’s opener.
“We were two goals down and after that, we tried to change some players and the system and it worked. Of course, I am not 50 percent happy. We made some individual mistakes and in the end, I think we were a bit lucky,” he said.
He said he was optimistic that the Warriors could get good results in the remaining games against Namibia and Senegal.
On the other hand, Malawi face Mozambique on Sunday.
Only top two teams from each group will sail through to the semifinals of the tournament that has 10 teams divided into two group of five each. The tournament ends on July 18.