Flames players have asked the nation not to abandon them following their pathetic display against Egypt on Friday night which saw them lose 2-0 in a 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier in Cairo.
Malawi’s stand-in captain John ‘CJ’ Banda said this in an interview on Saturday ahead of the return leg tomorrow at the Bingu National Stadium in Lilongwe.
He said: “On behalf of my colleagues, I would like to plead with Malawians not to forsake us.

Flames’ Gomezgani Chirwa (R) tussles
with Salah

“We take responsibility for the loss and we know we could have done better than we did. We urge them to come in their large numbers to support us on Tuesday.
“Things didn’t go well, but they shouldn’t abandon us because we are their sons. We will try our best to get a positive result.”
In a separate interview yesterday, Flames coach Mario Marinica said he is hopeful of a better performance tomorrow against the r

ecord seven-time African champions.
He said: “We believe we have learned our lessons, identified our shortcomings and we keep a good chance of getting a positive result on Tuesday.”
On his part, Football Association of Malawi president Walter Nyamilandu also acknowledged that the Flames were out of sorts.
He said: “We didn’t play at our best, surely we could have done better, but let’s pick up the pieces and prepare for Tuesday.
“They [Flames] need to express themselves fully by being offensive and playing fearlessly.”

In Friday’s match, the Flames were on the back foot for the better part of the game in which they did not have single attempt on target and forced no corner kick.
The Pharaohs imposed themselves totally and had 10 corners against none for the visitors.

Egypt, who top the table with six points from three matches, courtesy of a superior goal difference, drew first blood in the 20th minute through their England-based marksman Mohammad Salah, who plays for Liverpool.

The Pharaohs doubled the lead in the injury time of the first half through an own goal by Romania-based defender Charles Petro.
Egypt are tied on points with second-placed Guinea’s Syli Nationale while the Flames lie third in the four-team Group D with three points.
Table-anchors Ethiopia’s Walias also have three points, but with an inferior goal difference.

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