Malawi National Football Team Coach Kalisto Pasuwa has said his charges need to improve on fitness levels.

He says doing so would boost the team’s chances of reaching the second round of this year’s African Nations Championship.

The Flames defeated Comoros 2-0 at Bingu National Stadium in Lilongwe on Sunday.

Pasuwa said they got the result they wanted as these were two-leg matches which required instant results.

“Remember, we are in the off-season and the boys are not yet fit. The length of the grass was maybe [too tall] for them to be running into it, hence we saw the intensity of the match dropping in the second half. But I am happy with the result.

“The boys were in the offseason but if you were to look at our opponents, they are in season. Fitness levels [for the Flames], as you can seem are still low. Like I said, defensively they did well and we managed to hold on in the second half. Then we caught them on the counter and got a goal,” the Zimbabwean, who signed a three-year deal, said.

Pasuwa said they needed time to build a strong team.

“The result is a [source of] motivation to the team. Remember, when you are building a team, you need to see improvements in whatever you are doing. We can say we are on step one and we are moving up. We have to mix fitness with tactical awareness.

“In football, you cannot build a player in a week or within four days; we need time, hence we are here, given a period of six weeks, to prepare for the matches that will be coming,” he said.

Binwell Katinji gave the Flames the lead before Zebron Kalima increased the margin in added time.

Comoros Coach Mickidache said it would be difficult to stop Malawi during the return leg.

“We are down but not yet out but we know that our chances are slim as Malawi is a very good team,” he said in a post-match interview.

The Flames will face Comoros on Saturday in a second leg match at the same venue.

Comoros opted to use BNS during the first leg match following the absence of a Confederation of African Football certified stadium in their country.