Malawi captain Stanley Sanudi says they will not allow a repeat of mistakes from the past to hinder their progress when they take on Comoros in the Hollywoodbets Cosafa Cup fixture in Durban, South Africa on Tuesday.
The Flames just need a draw to finish as Group B winners and qualify for the semi-finals ahead of defending champions Zambia, who will face Seychelles in their last match, and according to the Mighty Mukuru Wanderers right back, the players are aware of what is at stake for Malawi.
“This is a very important match for us. We cannot afford any slip-ups. We need to beat Comoros because our target is to collect a maximum of nine points and finish as group winners so that we face the best losers in the semi-finals,” said Sanudi ahead of the game, adding: “This is a different time and different players. Forget about those days when Malawi would give up the lead towards the end of the match.
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“That is in the past. This is a new generation of players that will not allow that to happen. We take strength in what the Fam president preached to us that let there be light.”
The Flames kicked off the campaign with a clean sheet against Zambia, beating the neighbours 1-0, and then followed that up with another 2-0 victory over Seychelles to top Group B and according to Sanudi, Malawi must have courage to win the remaining fixture.
“You can see from those two matches that this is a different team to the Flames people used to know. Every player is working hard,” he said, adding: “As senior players, we are offering guidance to these up-and-coming players and everything is fine. You can see how these young players are performing. The Flames are now open to any player as long he is good.
“Everyone is here on merit. No one is here because of a name. That’s why the team is doing well.”
Any result other than a win or draw, will put the Flames in an awkward position as they will end up in a tie with not only Comoros but even Zambia if Chipolopolo beat Seychelles.