African Cup Football News – Algeria pushing forward and putting pressure on a nervous Malawi defence, forcing Swadick Sanudi to stay alert in the Flames goal, making his first save from a long range Abdelkader Ghezzal effort in the 4th minute, during their 2010 African Nations Cup match.

Malawi coach Kinnah Phiri looked nervous on the sidelines, but his side soon found an opening on the counter attack, as a cross found a darting Russel Mwafulirwa whose header under pressure went just wide of Fawzi Chaouchi’s goal.

In the 15th minute Algeria showed how dangerous they could be with a clever team move that saw Rafik Saifi crack a volley from just outside the box, but an alert Sanudi saved the ball well. Less than a minute later it was Russel who scored the opening goal of the game, as a mix up between Algerian ‘keeper Chaouchi and Madjid Bougherra forced the latter to blast his clearance onto a Malawi player before Russel slotted into the back of the net.

A disappointingly empty stadium produced little in terms of atmosphere, with a few drums and vuvuzelas filling the air as Malawi built on their lead, scoring a surprising second with a fine header from Elvis Kafoteka after Algeria were slow to react to a short corner.

The second half saw Malawi looking increasing confident on the ball, with players like Josephy Kamwendo attempting to create more up front. Sloppy defending from Algeria allowed Malawi to score a third, as a scramble in the box saw Russel hit the post before Dave Banda received the ball and slotted into the bottom corner of the goal, getting injured in the process after a fierce tackle from an Algerian defender.

The Algerians went into this tournament expecting little and aiming only to get out of the group, but they were not looking like the same side that guaranteed a spot in the World Cup after a hard fought play-off against Egypt.