First half strikes from Michael Tethe and Duncan Nyoni inspired Silver Strikers to a 2-1 victory over cross town rivals Civil Sporting Club in a TNM Super League match played at Silver Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
Both teams took their time settling into the game, but chances began to flow at either end of the field once the midway point of the first half had passed.
Tethe saw his goal-bound shot brilliantly blocked by Willard Dickson, while shortly thereafter Civil’s Raphael Phiri almost caught goalkeeper Charles Thom in possession near his goal line.
The Bankers were able to break the deadlock on 36 minutes when Nyoni’s low drive pass into the box found Tethe who wasted no time to fire past Hastings Banda in goals for the visitors.
Moments later, it was 2-0. A freekick from Nyoni went straight into the net, beating Banda who should have done better to stop the ball from kissing the back of the net.
Civil almost responded back when Phiri forced himself into the penalty box only to see his shot hitting the upright in unbelievable circumstances.
In the second half, Nyoni was replaced by Mark Fodya due to an injury and the Bankers were more of defensive than attacking, inviting pressure from their opponents who should have reduced the arrears when Andrew Banda’s long range artillery was cleared by Thom for a corner.
The visitors were coming wave after wave in search for goals and their hardworking spirit finally paid off when Trevor Kalema brought down Fletcher Bandawe inside the penalty box, leaving the referee with no choice but to point straight on the spot from which the foul victim stepped up before unleashing his powerful shot past Thom, 2-1.
Both teams made changes but it was Silver Strikers who stood firm to collect maximum points to the delight of coach Young Chimodzi.
The result sees the Area 47 side climbing up to third with 11 points from six games while Civil Sporting have dropped to position 11 with 9 points from the same number of games.
