Malawian coach Kenna Phiri has placed blame on some of his players' late arrival into camp for their 2-0 loss to Rwanda in a Group 'C' encounter of the ongoing Cecafa Tusker Senior Challenge Cup in Kampala, Uganda.

"We could have given a better performance but some of our players suffered fatigue having arrived the night before the match against Rwanda. I am hoping things will be different in the next match next match tomorrow," said Phiri.

Malawi were invited into the tournament as a guest nation and going by their previous showing in the tourney, they were expected to give a stiff challenge to the favourites.

"We did not defend well against Rwanda and our goal-keeping was a bit shaky. The good thing is that we managed to create chances against a very solid team," he admitted. Phiri still believes his team is good enough to at least reach the last eight of the tournament as they have done in recent years.