Not fit for the league: Chitipa United loses again

Chitipa United on Sunday sank deeper into relegation waters after going down 3-0 to Azam Tigers at the Chilomoni Stadium.

Nixon Mwase, Luke Chima and Chasimbiwe Kanyika grabbed a goal each to pile more misery on the bottom placed club which returned home empty-handed having fallen 2-0 in Saturday’s date with Nyasa Big Bullets at the same venue.

The early exchanges saw a balanced affair with both teams passing the ball around with confidence.

However, they were to be separated on 20 minutes after  defender Nixon Mwase rose highest to head home Bonda Mpinganjira’s in-swinging corner kick.

Chitipa carved out some chances of their own through the individual brilliance of Malawi Under-20 forward Abel Mwakilama but Tigers goalkeeper William Thole was equal to the task.

Thirteen minutes into the second half the Kau Kau boys doubled their lead.

Chima tapped home Maziya Banda’s free kick from the right after beating Chitipa’s offside trap.

It was his ninth goal of the campaign and has taken him level at the top of the scorer’s chart with Blue Eagles hitman Mphatso Philimoni.

After the goal, Chitipa made some changes but yielded nothing as Tigers kept the pressure on them.

No wonder the Kau Kau Boys managed to put the contest beyond the visitors in the 78th minute with debutant Chasimbiwe Kanyika smashing in the third goal, an absolute cracker from just outside the 18 yard box.

The win moves Tigers a step up into position 8 with 24 points from 17 fixtures.

Chitipa remain rooted to the bottom with 11 points from 18 games.

In his post-match interview with Malawi24, Tigers coach Patricio Kulemeka hailed his charges but said they are yet to hit their peak.

Chitipa assistant coach Robert Mzinza blamed the loss on officiation.

“How could they assign a trainee referee (Martin Veremu) for such a match? He was disappointing and didn’t know what to do,” said Mzinza.

However, he wore a brave face and insisted the battle for survival is not over yet.

“There are 12 games to go in which we can turn things around. I am confident we will survive,” said Mzinza.