CAFCC: Mighty Wanderers better than what I thought – Sean Connor

Botswana’s Jwaneng Galaxy FC coach Sean Connor says Malawi’s Mighty Wanderers are a better team than what he thought.

He said this after losing 1-0 to the Nomads in the 2025-2026 CAF Confederation Cup preliminary round, first leg game on Sunday at Bingu National Stadium in Lilongwe.

The Englishman said he had watched the Malawians via video clips before the match, but faced a slightly different opposition.

“We now have a better look at Wanderers. I had watched some of their videos. They are a better team than what I was led to believe, but we didn’t underestimate them. As you could see, we were cautious,” he told the media.

“It was a tough game, and that was what we expected. I thought in the first half, we were in control. They wanted to put early balls in the box but we dealt with that. They changed shape in the second. They pushed the two fullbacks and that gave us problems, but we dealt with that.

“I thought we were in control of the game and we had one or two half chances. We just needed to be more aggressive going forward.”

Galaxy still in contention despite defeat

Connor insisted that his side is still in the Confederation Cup tie despite losing Wanderers.

“The task here was to make sure we were still in the tie when we go back to Francistown. The tie is very much alive. We still have a chance when we go back to Francistown,” he added.

The Blantyre-based team earned the win courtesy of skipper Felix Zulu’s strike with 10 minutes remaining on the clock.

The Malawians will carry the slender lead going into the return leg at Obert Itani Chilume Stadium in Botswana on Saturday.

The Nomads have returned to the continental cup since 2018 when they were hammered 6-1 on aggregate by Congolese side AS Vita at the same stage of the Confederation Cup.

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