Moyale Barracks and Be Forward Wanderers will battle for a place in the Carlsberg Cup final when the two teams meet this afternoon at Mzuzu Stadium.
It’s a replica of the inaugural Airtel Top 8 Cup in which the Mzuzu based Soldiers gave away a 2-nil lead to lose 3-2 to the Blantyre based giants at Bingu National Stadium some months ago.
Moyale Barracks earned their place in the last four of the competition thanks to their 4-1 victory over rookies Michiru Madrid while the Nomads made their way into the semifinal spot after beating Blue Eagles 3-2 in post-match penalties.
The Nomads have plenty of pedigree in this competition, having won it three times and they are the current defending champions of the cup after beating Silver Strikers 5-4 on penalties last year.
The two teams met a fortnight ago in a Super League match from which the Nomads smashed five goals past the Soldiers at Balaka Stadium but Moyale Barracks have vowed to avenge the said defeat by booting out the defending champions out of the tourney.
Wanderers Team Manager Steve Madeira told the local press on Thursday that his charges will go for the kill as they look to secure a place in the final for the second time in a row.
“We will go for the kill as we are looking forward to defend the cup. We met them last week from which we managed to score five goals past them but this is a knockout competition where you cannot be a favorite if you are not ready for the challenge so I have advised the boys not to be complacent against the Soldiers,” he said.
Moyale Barracks interim Coach Charles Kamanga, though admitting that the match will not be easy, is optimistic that his charges will knock the Nomads out of the cup.
“We are playing at home and we just need to be focused in order to reach the finals of the cup.
It won’t be easy but I am very optimistic that the boys will deliver. Of course, our form has gone down but we had a crisis meeting last week where the boys promised to turn things around,” he told the local press.
The Nomads will be without Jafali Chande and Alfred Manyozo Jnr due to suspensions while Joseph Kamwendo will command the middle park.
As for the Soldiers, they don’t have any injury concern ahead of the encounter.
