…Red Lions held by Mafco…
TNM Super League championship race took another twist on Saturday afternoon when Kamuzu Barracks climbed back to the top following their convincing 3-1 victory over Azam Tigers at Civo Stadium.
The free scoring Soldiers got their goals through Harvey Nkacha, Kelvin Hanganda, and Pilirani Makupe to dislodge Blue Eagles at the top with 49 points from 26 games and maintain their unbeaten run at home.
It was business as usual for Billy Phambala’s boys as they produced fantastic football to silence the visitors who won the first round 1-nil at Kamuzu Stadium but they were unable to tame the hosts’ pace as they played second fiddle on the day.
Nkacha got his opener in the first ten minutes before an equalizer from Tigers.
However, just when the visitors thought the game would end 1-all at half time, Hanganda rose to the occasion when he scored a beauty to put his side back in the lead before the half time.
In the second half, Bright Phiri, Yamikani Chester, Dan Kumwenda and Peter Cholopi all pushed further in search for the leveller but Barracks’ defence was too stubborn to unlock.
The hosts sealed the lead just after the hour mark through Makupe who made a simple finish to beat William Thole in goals for the visitors.
With less than ten minutes left on the clock to play, Tigers pressed harder hoping to grab something out of the game but it was too little too late as the hosts climbed back to the summit with some few games to play before the end of the season.
At Zomba Community Centre Ground, Loti Chawinga cancelled an early Richard Mbulu strike to deny Mafco FC from climbing up to second in the standings.
The result sees the Salima based Soldiers leapfrogging defending champions Nyasa Big Bullets to third position with 46 points from 26 games.
The two teams will battle it out for maximum points at Kamuzu Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
At MDC Stadium, the match between Premier Bet Wizards and Silver Strikers has been shifted to Sunday afternoon due to heavy downpour in the city of Blantyre.
The match will be played at Mpira Village Stadium in Chiwembe.
And in Mzuzu, Karonga United dislodged Civo Service United from the 14th position without kicking a ball as they collected points over Max Bullets FC.
The action continues on Sunday, with Moyale Barracks playing host to Dwangwa United at Mzuzu Stadium while Blue Eagles will be looking forward to climb back to the top of the summit when they host Tigers at Nankhaka Stadium.
At Kamuzu Stadium, Bullets will entertain Mafco FC, with Wizards playing host to Silver Strikers at Mpira Village Stadium.
