Eagles in Malidadi injury scare: Malawi TNM Super League leaders
Blue Eagles FC might be basking in the glory of amassing maximum 18 points from their opening TNM Super League assignments but coach Deklerk Msakakuona has every reason to worry ahead of the cops’ next league or Presidential Cup fixture against noisy neighbours Silver Strikers, having lost another key striker during Sunday’s 1-0 home victory against Moyale Barracks.
Eagles defeated the visiting soldiers- courtesy of a first half strike from John Junior Malidadi, who picked the ball from the centre line and waved past five Moyale players before beating goalkeeper Juma Chikwenga from close range.
However, the striker, who was just returning from a long lay-off after nursing a knee injury was stretchered off the field in the second half following the re-occurrence of the injury.
He is likely to be out for weeks or months, meaning Msakakuona will be without two key regulars in the Eagles’ next fixture with their top scorer Maxwell Salambula serving a red-card suspension.
Salambula saw red during the cops’ 7-1 routing of Dwangwa Town Hammers in a Presidential Cup regional play-off and missed the home league tie against Moyale.
The Eagles’ next league fixture is against neighbours Silver Strikers, whom they are also expected to meet in the Presidential Cup before the league tie.
The Lexten Kachama boys were deprived of two key members during the off-season as John Banda and Schumaker Kuwali joined Mozambican professional sides but they have defied all the odds by winning all their six league assignments to stay at the summit of the TNM Super League table with maximum 18 points from six games.
Msakakuona admitted the absence of Malidadi and Salambula might affect his plans for the derby clash against Silver but was quick to say he has ready replacements for the two.
“These are our key strikers but we just have to have faith in their replacements. When Banda and Kuwali left for Mozambique, people thought that was the end of Blue Eagles but you have seen players like Salambula fitting onto their shoes. The players who are going to feature in place of the two will do the job for us,” said Msakakuona.
The police outfit’s exploits have opened a debate amongst soccer followers with some saying the cops are just warming-up the driver’s seat while others say Eagles could be the Leicester City of Malawi.
Msakakuona refused to the dwell much on the people’s comments saying: “People are saying all sorts of things but what I can say is that it’s too early to talk about the championship. The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step and we have taken the first step but we don’t know what we will encounter along the way.”
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