The match was used by both sides prepare for next month’s African Cup of Nations in Angola.

Egypt took the lead late in the first half when Hosni Abd-Rabou converted from the penalty spot, but the Flames pulled level in the 87th minute through boy wonder -Chiukepo Msowoya.

Coach Kinna Phiri is on record that the outcome of the match would be highly appreciated.

“People should not read too much into the outcome of the game because we are using the game to prepare for the tournament ahead of us,” he said.

Malawi chose Egypt as they will kick-off their campaign in Angola against north African side, Algeria who are also playing in the World Cup.

Malawi will play Algeria on January 11 and were drawn in Group A. Other teams are hosts Angola and Mali.

Now, listen, Humbi-Humbi art gallery in Luanda, the Callandulla Waterfalls, the Jonas Savimbi stories, and the oil Fields all there for our lads to see and hear.

Thanks to Didier Drogba and company, Malawi has finally squeezed through to the 27th Africa Cup of Nations finals to be played in Angola from 10-31 January 2010. This has been after a very long wait-25 years. Because Ivory Coast beat Guinea in their last qualifying game in Abidjan, the Ivorians shoved the Malawi boys on the plane to Angola.

The bones of the one who invented football must be cracking 6ft under wherever he was buried somewhere in England. Why? Malawi has qualified for the Africa cup of nation’s finals. Is it a surprise? Maybe no maybe yes. Yes because foreigners from Denmark, German and England have failed to achieve this feat.

And it is an all Malawian technical panel that have finally broken the hoodoo, more interestingly  though is the fact that the technical panel is headed by a man from Karonga whose population according to official figures released by His Excellency the State President Ngwazi Dr. Bingu wa Mutharika does not make up that of Chikwawa.

“Chikwawa district has a population of 435,895 more than that of Karonga and Chitipa combined”, once remarked the President.

Our boys must by now already have bought the “teach yourself Portuguese” books and by early January they should at least be able to say; Como estas (how are you) and fluently ask; pue arranger um taxi para mim (can you call a taxi for me) and of course, qual e a hora du pequeno almoco (what time is breakfast) Kinnah Phiri, Young Chimodzi and Jack Chamangwana should surely memorise this A que hora comencera o jogo? (What time is kick off)

The Africa cup draw gives Malawi some challenging matches but nothing we shouldn’t be able to take care of…We don’t see why we shouldn’t get past Angola, Algeria and Mali. Being underdogs may seem a blessing and not a curse as pressure is not on us. Under Kinnah Phiri Malawi has rediscovered the flair to be African beaters again.

We, the Timau crew look forward to 20 days of Africa cup of nations fever. Justwhat we want to cheer us up at the point of political chaos.

Our Boys need to be prepared all out, body fitness, proper diet, game psychology and all that goes with a winning team.

During the knock out stages our performance was lustre. In total, Malawi played 12 games to reach this level.  In the knockout stage where they won 4 and lost 2 and 6 in the qualifying round and lost 4 times, drew once and won one game.

This should give the Karonga man some food for thought .If the trip to Angola won’t be dubbed Tour de Angola. They are not tourists. We don’t want our boys to be the whipping boys of the tournament.

The performance of Malawi slacked during the second phase of the competition not that the teams were tough no, not at all. The boys faced Egypt, DRC Congo which are equally good teams like Ivory Coast, Guinea and Burkina Faso. So, what happened? Its either the preparations were not good enough or the techniques deployed by the Karonga man failed us. Kinnah and company must go back to the drawing board and see what they can do to make Malawians proud..

We are very confident that things will work most importantly that friend lies have been lined up for our lads. The Flames face Egypt, Togo, and Ghana in preparations for the Africa cup finals. What else do we want?

Even the coach himself said that there is nothing more he can ask for.

The Flames who are preparing for Africa Cup of Nations finals which kick off on January 10 in Angola will face Egypt  in Cairo on Tuesday.

Their match with Zambia has been cancelled after the two countries failed to agree on terms.

“Malawi Football Association insisted that we play Malawi in Blantyre but we wanted the match to be played in Johannesburg,” The Post of Zambia quoted Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) communications officer Erick Mwanza.

“In the best interest of the team we decided we could not waste two day of training travelling to and from Malawi.

The Flames are also expected later play Ghana on January 5.

The Flames gaffer will rely on star players Esau Kanyenda and Peter Mponda to help Malawi in the competition.

The squad which is comprised of eight locally based players and 15 foreign based players has seen injured Tanzanian based Wisdom Ndolvu been dropped.

Some of the local players in the squad are MTL Wanderers duo Harry Nyirenda and Simplex Nthara, Escom United trio Victor Nyirenda, Elvis Kafoteka and Charles Swini. Red Lions marksman Dave Banda, Silver Strikers workhorse Hellings Mwakasungura got a call-up as well.

On players who ply their trade abroad Kinnah has favoured Black Leopards trio Peter Mponda, Robert Ng’ambi and Fisher Kondowe,

The squad also includes Orlando Pirates genius Joseph Kamwendo, Nathi Lions enterprising midfielder Moses Chavula, Thanda Royals striker Peter Wadabwa, Sweden based Russell Mwafulirwa, Mozambique based Chiukepo Msowoya, Dynamos duo Swadik Sanudi and Allan Kamanga, and South African based Atusaye Nyondo and Jimmy Zakazaka.

However there is no place in the squad for German based Dan Chitsulo and Denmark based Clement Kafwafwa.

Malawi will lock horns with hosts Angola, Algeria and Mali in the group stage of the tournament.

The full squad is as follows:
Goalkeepers: Swadick Sanudi, Simplex Nthala and Charles Swini

Defenders: Peter Mponda (captain), James Sangala, Allan Kamanga, Maupo Msowoya, Moses Chavula, Harry Nyirenda, Ivis Kafoteka

Midfielders: Dave Banda, Hellings Mwakasungula, Josephy Kamwendo, Peter Wadabwa, Robert Ng’ambi, Jacob Ngwira, Fisher Kondowe,

Strikers: Chiukepo Msowoya, Esau Kanyenda, Russell Mwafulirwa, Atusaye Nyondo, Jimmy Zakazaka Victor Nyirenda.

Coach : Kinna Phiri, Assistant Coach: Young Chimodzi Banda, Team Manager: Stewart Mbolembole, Goalkeeper Trainer: Mc Hodges Chunga, Team Doctor: Matthews Mangondo, Technical Advisor: Jack Chamangwana

Football Association of Malawi (FAM)  president Walter Nyamilandu broke this news when he announced the revised programme of African Cup of Nations preparations which include friendly games. Some of the teams that FAM have dated is Ghana and Egypt.

It is reported that FAM and Togo FA have signed a contract of which one of the clauses is that Togo will bring full squad.

Nyamilandu said: “They will be here on December 31 and play us on January 2 before flying out to South Africa. This is a big moment for Malawian football as we bring to our fans another top player in [the name of] Adebayor.”

“The Flames need home game before Afcon to wave goodbye to the fans. Doing it against a top team such as Togo is something beautiful,” he continued.

However Malawi will travel to Cairo where they are supposed to play Egypt on December 29.

“Egypt have invited us to play them away. They are paying everything-from air tickets, accommodation to allowances,” he added.

Meanwhile Malawi’s coach, Kinnah Phiri said that it is a good plan than that of overseas as they planned earlier on-saying that these Africa teams will spice up the Flames.

Kinnah said: “You can not ask anything better than playing full strength Egypt, Ghana and Togo within a week. I t will really give us a good picture of what to expect in Angola.”

Before flying out to Angola, Malawi will be at Swaziland’s capital City, Mbabane where they will take on Ghana on January 5 in a friendly match.

Therefore, FAM president has assured Malawians that everything is well and nothing to worry about as they have made contracts with all FAs.

“Everything is in Black. We have contracts with all the three FAs,” He concluded.

Malawi beat African Giants, Egypt, DRC, Guinea and they made one-all draw with Ivory coast at Kamuzu stadium in Blantyre-Malawi in 2010 World Cup and Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers two months ago.

Malawi qualified for Angola’s Africa Cup of Nations with a dramatic record of one win and a draw. This is their first time to reach the promised land after 25 painful year.

They were drawn with Angola, Mali and Algeria in Group A-and are expected meat Algeria in their opening match on January 11.

The team will have three foreign based players; Russian based Esau Kanyenda, Mozambican hit man Chiukepo Msowoya and Angolan based defender James ‘Shareholder’ Sangala.

“I want each and every one to experience what it feels to play an away game, “said Malawi coach.

Some of the local players expected to travel to Mozambique are Chikumbutso Kanyenda, Victor Nyirenda, Harry Nyirenda, Peter Mgangira, Panganani Ndolvi, Maupo Msowoya and Elvis Kafoteka.

Others are Simplex Nthara, Charles Swini, Lawrence Mwehiwa, Charles Kalaile, Chikaiko Bridge and Blessings Tembo.

Malawi is drawn alongside Angola, Mali and Algeria in the 201 AFCON edition which starts next month.

The 2010 competition in Angola will be Malawi’s second appearance at the African Cup of Nations. The Flames’ first showing at the tournament was back in 1984, where they failed to get past the first round, but did manage a 2-2 draw against giants Nigeria.

Malawi was 1-0 down when coach Kinnah Phiri sent on Msowoya to replace Dave Banda.

He scored two minutes into the second half, firing hard and low past the Guinea goalkeeper Kemoko Camara.

It proved to be the spur the home side needed after Guinea’s Oumar Kalabane put the visitors in front in the 37th minute from a corner.

Msowoya’s second goal was a bullet header from a Joseph Kamwendo corner in the 60th minute.

The victory was Malawi’s first in four Group E qualifying games. Malawi now joins Guinea on three points. Ivory Coast leads the group with nine points from three games, with Burkina Faso in second place with six points from three games.-AP

Malawi was leading 2-0 in 6oth minute when violence started at one of the Biafra stands.

The director of ceremonies of the events, Brian Mungomo called on Police to rush to the stands to control the crowds.

Calm retained at the stand as some security forces controlled the crowd trouble. However, the supporters continue with the pelting towards the end of the match.

They were scenes of fights at the stands as stones continued to fly over at the stand.

In the match which Malawi’s Flames had featured all domestic players with Elvis Kafoteka as skipper, the home side won 3-1.

Lawrence ‘Teacher’ Mwehiwa winning his debut in the national team scored the first goal in the first half.

Peter Wadabwa scored the second goal in the second half before Swaziland reduced the arrears in the 77th minute through a penalty kick.

Swaziland goalkeeper Thozokani Nkulichi sent Simplex Nthara -who was also playing for the first time in the national side – the wrong way.

Wadabwa (pictured) completed Malawi’s win just four minutes before time.

“We will never give up, we will fight on” said Kinnah after the game in Guinea. 

It is clear to everyone, including Mayi Hilda Manjankhosi, Malawi Congress Party (MCP) women’s league powerhouse; that Malawi’s chances in the competition are now slim-we are not going anywhere. 

Malawi has got three games to play. Two at  home and one away.

We, the Timau Crew, are not in the habit of giving false hopes to our valued readers.

Our past experience has helped us to come up with spot on predictions.

For instance, when we said that Malawi would beat Egypt, we got it right. 

Today, we want soccer fans to have peaceful nights, Malawi is going nowhere. People should watch the remaining games without the high expectations Kinnah has given them.

Of cause he has to remain confident in his team, he is after all the man behind both its misery and success. 

Why are we saying that this is the end of the road for the Flames?

Malawi will play Didier Drogba’s Ivory Coast in Blantyre having lost 5-0 away. What gives Malawians confidence that Peter Mponda and co will stop the soon to be 16 million pound Chelsea star, Drogba, who will be surrounded by other professionals like, Solomon Kalou, Didire Zakora, Yaya Toure, Kolo Toure and many more. 

Having failed to beat Burkina Faso at home, on what miracle can Malawi defeat Burkina Faso in their backyard?

What gives us so much hope that we will beat Guinea in Blantyre in September if the coach himself is not confident of his own strikers?

Kinnah is talking of recruiting new strikers; will they be good enough to beat Ivory Coast? Your guess is as good as ours. 

It is encouraging to learn that the coach’s mood is to continue leading his warring team to success but has he got the ammunition?

The final round will be very tough as teams will now come full blaze. 

Although Kinnah Phiri is optimistic of his team progressing to the next round, we are sure somewhere he is digging an escape tunnel. He is probably realising how difficult it is to come up with a winning team overnight.

Everybody is now asking: where has the winning rhythm that he previously brought gone to? 

Every thing said, we have to be honest with ourselves, Knnah Phiri deserves a part on the back for bringing the team this far. This is in complete contrast to the expatriates we previously had who were drawing thousands of Kwachas and could not win even a friendly game.

sembegondwe@yahoo.com

Phiri said this after his Flames lost to Guinea 2-1 in Conakry registering three straight loses without a point and anchoring the table of the Group.

 Flames will first host Guinea at the Kamuzu Stadium in September in a match that could decide either way for the two teams.

Reaching the actual World Cup is now out of reach for these two teams, but the Nations Cup is still up for grabs, and despite Malawi holding up the bottom of the rankings anything can happen.

But Kinnah insisted: “We’ll never give up. We will fight on.”

In an interview after the game broadcast live on Zodiak Radio, Kinnah could not believe the loss which he attributed to his strikers who missed several clear chances.

“We created several chances and we would have won this game by even three or four goals but I don’t know what’s wrong with my strikers that they can’t score even when the goal keeper is not there.

“We really need to sit down and see how to rectify this problem. We seriously need to change the striking force and possibly put in young players,” said a disappointed Coach in an apparent reference to Russian based Essau Kanyenda, who has failed to score in six games. 

Kinnah –Malawi’s ‘Special One’ – however refused to give in saying chances of qualifying for Africa Cup of Nations in Angola next year were still there.

“Chances are still there, we just need to win them [Guinea] at home and then also win the remaining two games,” he imagined.  

Kinnah said he and the backroom staff will go back to the drawing table and emphasized that the striking force will be reorganized.

“We need to sit down and draw plans. We need to sharpen the striking force and we need young blood,” said the coach.

“We have to make a bit of a change at the striking force. We are having problems nobody can deny that,” he said.

The coach who is Malawi’s celebrated striker said there is still a flicker of hope for Flames to play in African Cup of Nations finals in January.

“But we should not be afraid. We shouldn’t give up and can still dream for Angola,” he said.

According to Zodiak Broadcasting Station (ZBS) commentator Mike Bango in Conakry, Malawi was a much improved side in the game as compared to two weeks ago when they lost 1-0 to Burkina Faso at the Kamuzu Stadium.

 Bango, however, bemoaned the standard of officiating by the Sudanese whistle man whose work left a lot to be desired.

Malawi’s leader of delegation in Guinea, Paul Mzungu admitted the situation for the national side is difficult.

“We are in difficult situation. We have to win other two matches and hope Guinea loses as well,” said Mzungu.

Malawi anchors the Group E with no point. Ivory Coast sits at the apex with three wins followed by Burkina Faso and Guinea.