Chatama: “We want to finish the first round in the top four, that’s where we belong.”

After a weekend of rest, the ambitious TNM Super League newcomers, Ekhaya FC, are set to return to action this Saturday. They will host the Salima-based soldiers, Mafco FC, at Kamuzu Stadium.

The Cowboys last played a Super League match two weeks ago, where they suffered a 3-1 defeat to the defending champions, Silver Strikers, in the Capital City.

MORE NEWS FROM WAMPIRA

Ekhaya will be welcoming one of the league’s most in-form teams, Mafco FC, who have only lost one of their last five matches.

Heading into Saturday’s match, Mafco are coming off a narrow 1-0 defeat to FCB Nyasa Big Bullets last Sunday. Prior to that setback, however, they were on a four-game unbeaten streak.

Since losing to Blue Eagles, Mafco beat Mighty Tigers 3-1 before securing a 2-0 home victory against Dedza Dynamos. They then played to a barren stalemate against Silver Strikers before soundly defeating a struggling Songwe United 3-1 away from home.

Mafco has been a poor team on the road, winning just one of their six away games while losing three and drawing two. Overall, they have won five games this season, but four of those victories came at home.

Mafco has conceded six goals in six away matches while scoring four. Overall, they have scored 14 goals and conceded 17.

Ekhaya is heading into the game on the back of a difficult month of July, in which they suffered three defeats, but all were against league heavyweights.

They lost to FCB Nyasa Big Bullets and Mighty Wanderers before hammering Moyale Barracks. They concluded their difficult month with a 3-1 defeat to Silver.

Ekhaya has spent the majority of the first half of the season in the top three, but their recent run of poor results has seen them replaced by Silver Strikers and Blue Eagles in the top four. They are currently 5th with 23 points after playing 14 matches.

Ekhaya has played seven games at home and seven away. They have been a formidable team at home, losing just twice to Wanderers and Bullets, while winning five matches.

Only Bullets and Wanderers have managed to score against them at Kamuzu Stadium. Ekhaya has scored nine goals at home and six goals away.

Ekhaya FC record at home and away this season

”We are ready for the game against Mafco”

Ekhaya FC Head Coach, Enos Chatama, said his boys are ready for the game against Mafco.

“As a team, we are ready to take on Mafco on Saturday. We had one week without action. We are now back in action to play our last game of the first round. It will be a tough match, but the team is ready to take on Mafco on Saturday.

“We can say that we missed the action so much after coming from a 3-1 defeat to Silver Strikers. We wanted to play another game [quickly] to iron out the past mistakes, but we rested instead. The boys resumed training on Monday, and up to this point, we are ready to play Mafco on Saturday. We believe that the team is ready; a lot of players have recovered from fatigue and travel engagements.

“We played two different teams at different venues [in our last two matches], and the dynamics of the games were quite different. We played Silver Strikers, where we played better. We conceded silly goals, and we lost the match. They [Mafco] played [against] Bullets. We watched the game; it was a different game. This is Ekhaya vs. Mafco, so we should forget about the past, but what we have to do is iron out the past mistakes that occurred in the past games.

“We made a lot of mistakes that could have been avoided. We also have to avoid and minimize individual errors in the game.”

“We want to go back to the top four, that’s where we belong.”

“Mafco will be a tough game, considering that they would also want to finish the first round on a high note. They would love to win the game and move out of the relegation zone. A lot of teams, when they are at the bottom of the table, will always fight hard to get a win and move out of the bottom.

“As a team, Ekhaya, we also want to fight and finish in the top four. We were in the top four, but we were displaced last week. Now we are 5th, and we want to go back to the top four, where we belong.

“We believe that it will be a tough game for both teams, but we are ready to take them on. We are playing at home, so there’s no excuse; we have to fight for the maximum points.

“We still have the same players. Some are missing due to injuries, but I don’t like talking about injured players. We have to use those who are available so that we can fight and get the maximum points on Saturday.

“We want to finish the first round in the top four so that when we start the second round, we should start with confidence and morale. We have to maintain our balance, our rhythm, and our fighting spirit so that we finish in a better position and survive relegation.”