Nyasa Big Bullets assistant coach Eliya Kananji has heaped praise on new boy Patrick Phiri describing him as the team’s super substitute.
Phiri is having a debut season at the club, after joining from Wizards a few months ago.
The 20-year-old has not demanded more time to find his feet at his new club where he has already won over the BB faithful with his sparkling form, which has seen him rekindling BB’s old tradition of scoring late, dramatic goals.
Last Tuesday, he came off the bench to fire the team to a 1-2 win over Nchalo United, netting the winner with just two minutes left on the clock.
And just when Moyale Barracks thought they had done enough to earn a draw in their Airtel Top 8 quarterfinal first leg against Bullets on Sunday, Phiri stepped off the bench to break the soldiers’ hearts and give the Red Army a 1-0 advantage.
He struck the lone goal with virtually the last kick of the match after being handed less than 10 minutes of play.
Coincidentally, both of those strikes have come at the Kalulu Stadium in Nchalo, Chikwawa, inviting Kananji to wax lyrical about his new catch.
“He is our super substitute, the man we can call upon when the going gets tough,” said Kananji.
“As members of the technical panel, we are happy for him to have settled down quickly in his first season. In football you can have lots of good players but you can only feature eleven at once. But those on the bench are equally important, so when we call them to task we want them to deliver just as Patrick is doing,” he said.
In a separate interview, the former national Under 20 striker said he is happy with his role at the club and has no qualms being used as a substitute.
“Am here to do my job and I thank God things are working out well. I have no problems coming off the bench, all I strive for is to utilise the number of minutes given by the coach and deliver, so am glad the coach sees me as a super substitute and I promise not to disappoint,” said Phiri.
He also shared his delight for hitting the ground running at his new club.
“Coming from a small team like Wizards to a giant like Bullets, I didn’t expect to settle down this quick, so I just have to keep working hard to keep the goals coming and help the team get the results,” he said.
