First half goals from Hassan kajoke and Mike Mkwate handed Nyasa Big Bullets their first win in the 2020/21 TNM Super League season after beating Chitipa United at Karonga Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
The defending champions were coming from a 1-0 defeat to Karonga United on Saturday and had to organize themselves to get back into the game to claim such an important victory.
Defending TNM Super League Champions Nyasa Big Bullets claimed their first win the the 2020/21 TNM Super League season with a 2-0 victory over Chitipa Unitef at Karonga Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
With the likes of Hassan Kajoke, Mike Mkwate, Peter Banda, Pilirani Zonda and Ben Manyozo all given first start, Bullets pressed harder from the word go to send a warning to the hosts that they meant business.
It only took 1 minute for the People’s Team to break the deadlock in a brilliant fashion.
Chimwemwe Idana combined very well with Mkwate to Kajoke who wasted no time by releasing a rocket outside the penalty box to beat Musa Katawale in goals for the hosts.
Soon, one became two as Bullets extended their lead through Mkwate on 12th minute.
A brilliant run from Gomezgani Chirwa, who was deployed as a right winger, saw him sending a low cross pass inside the Six-yard box from which Mkwate latched on before slotting past defenseless Katawale, 2-0.
At the other end, Chitipa United were struggling in attack and failed to break Bullets’s defence which was being led by Nickson Nyasulu and Manyozo.
However, they nearly pulled a goal back in the 28th minute, but Mathews Sibale failed to comment well a cross from Byson Muhammad.
The hosts then pulled out Byson Muhammad and Gibeon Mgoja for Emmanuel Muyira and Kenson Mlenga.
On the stroke of half time, Nyasulu was denied a goal when referee wrongly awarded the hosts a freekick as he thought there was a push on Katawale only to realise later that he collided with his own defender.
In the second half, Bullets started the second half on a very low note, opting to sit back in defence of their fist half goals.
Chitipa United pressed higher in search for a goal and almost succeeded when Sibale headed over the cross bar after he was found unmarked inside the penalty box.
In the 58th minute, Kajoke then combined well with Idana and Chirwa but his final touch let him down as he sent a weaker shot straight into the hands Katawale.
Pasuwa opted to make a change of his own on 69th minute by introducing MacFallen Mgwira and Henry Kabichi for Mkwate and Banda.
On 78th minute, Idana received a brilliant pass from Aziz Mwakifuna to force himself into the penalty box but his weaker shot was equally saved by Katawale.
Bullets made another change towards the end of the match, pulling out Kajoke for Luke Chima who had some touches in front of goals but was denied a goal by a block by Bob Longwe in defence for Chitipa United.
The home side pressed forward in the closing stages of the game but were unable to break down the visitors’ defence.
However, Bullets managed to hold on to their 2-0 lead until the final whistle to claim first win of the season.
Speaking after the final whistle, Assistant Coach Peter Mponda said he was very impressed with the performance of his players in the wake of Saturday’s defeat.
“Very impressed with the first half performance. The players showed that they play for a big club and they handled the pressure very well after our defeat yesterday. We should give credit to the boys for being very organized especially in the first half when they defended our two goals to claim our first win,” he told Bullets media.
The win takes Bullets to fourth position in the table with four points from three games.
In another match, a brace from Royal Bokosi inspired Red Lions to a 2-1 victory over Ntopwa FC at Kamuzu Stadium to move to the top of the summit.
The Zomba based side have now become the first side to collect six-points from their two away from home assignments after beating Mighty Tigers 1-0 on Saturday.
The result sees the Zomba based side topping the standings with Seven points from three games.
