Top Malawi players were off-form against Algeria – Sangala

Defender  James Sangaka has said Malawi’s 2-0 home loss to Algeria on Saturday was largely due to below par performance of key players.

“The game was okay. We didn’t have our top players in their usual good form. We could keep the ball, but we did not have more options in attack. We had chances, but we did not have clear-cut chances,” the defender said in a post-match interview as quoted by SuperSport.

“We defended very well, but we were just let down by a few things. We allowed them to score from the half chances they created otherwise they did not create many chances. They just made use of the few chances they had.”

The loss suffered at the Kamuzu Stadium in Blantyre condemned Malawi coach Young Chimodzi to his first loss in four competitive matches since taking over this year.

The defeat threatens the Flames’ prospects of qualifying for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations finals in Morocco.

Malawi are third on three points from three games whereas Algeria top the standings on nine points, three ahead of Mali who beat Ethiopia also on Saturday.