Double strike sinks Malawi

Yahya Ramadhani made sure Tanzania got their Cosafa Cup campaign off to a spectacular start on Sunday when he scored two goals in six minutes to hand his country a 2-0 win over Malawi and ensure they got their noses in front in Group A ahead of Angola.

Angola beat Mauritius 1-0 and will play Tanzania this evening at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium in Phokeng.

Tanzanian coach Salum Mayanga said his side took their foot off the pedal in the second half after going into the break 2-0 up, opting to protect their lead as they absorbed pressure from Ronny van Geneugden’s Malawi for most of the second stanza.

“We started the game very carefully. We finished the first half with two goals, and the plan in the second half was to defend. That is why they looked like they were coming back because we were sitting back and we tried to manage our win,” he told SuperSport TV after the game.

Van Geneugden (right) admitted that his side was completely annihilated in the opening half, but a team-talk at the break gave his side more confidence.

“In the first half we showed them too much respect. My opinion is that my players appeared not to be confident enough, even when they had the ball. I was surprised because I know our team. We gave away two presents, two goals and it was a wake-up call for us at half-time when it was 2-0. We had a discussion at the break and I told my players I wanted to see a different Malawi,” Van Geneugden said.

Angola edged out Mauritius courtesy of an Antonio Quibeto goal in the fifth minute. The biggest talking point, however, was the aggression from the Mauritius players – they launched into countless reckless challenges throughout the match.

“It was a very important win, even though our opponents went above the limit when it comes to fair play in the pitch. We could tell how aggressive they were,” Angola coach Beto Bianchi told SuperSport TV.