Mighty Tigers’ quest to collect six maximum points in their two assignments in the North became a reality on Sunday after earning a hard-fought 0-1 win against a battling Savenda Chitipa United in a TNM Super League encounter.
The match played in front of a sizable crowd at the Karonga Stadium was settled through a lone strike in the first half courtesy of Tony Mbulu.
The victory means that the Blantyre based side conquered Karonga by amassing maximum six points in their two assignments after also downing Karonga United 1-0 the previous day.
Meanwhile, the defeat has ended the lions of Chitipa’s revival which had seen them pick up five points from their past three fixtures as they seek to pull themselves further clear of the relegation zone.
The match which was not a classic encounter by any means saw the away side just do enough to edge out the game led by the impressive Christopher Mikuwa who was immense in front of the sticks.
The hosts who played the most impressive football throughout the game failed to capitalize on their dominance as chance after chance went begging.
Speaking in a post-match interview Tigers coach Gerard Phiri, hailed his side’s tactical discipline and defensive shape in shutting out two attacking teams in earning the six points.
“We have had two difficult games in Karonga where on another day we could have lost both encounters but because of a solid backline we knew a single goal would be enough to hang on to the victory. I am delighted with the players’ efforts,” articulated a buoyant Phiri.
However, his counterpart Alex Ngwira, bemoaned his charges’ wastefulness in front of goal saying they at least deserved a point from the game.
“We should have never lost this encounter going by the balance of play and chances created but today was one of those days where no matter what we did the ball wasn’t ever going in the net despite our dominance hence we must be more ruthless at this level,” said a frustrated Ngwira.
With the six maximum points collected in Karonga, Mighty Tigers have climbed up to ninth on the log table with 29 points to their name from 23 matches while Savenda Chitipa United stay in eleventh with 25 points from 23 games.
