Nyasa Big Bullets moved back to the top of the TNM Super League standings following a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Mafco FC on Sunday afternoon.
The defending champions flexed their muscles against what had been a bogey team for them especially last season when they dropped points in the two fixtures against the Salima based Soldiers.
Bullets head coach Kalisto Pasuwa made just one change with Yamikani Fodya as the defending midfielder, allowing Patrick Mwaungulu to operate from the right wing.
Bullets’ Lanjesi Nkhoma had the first clear sight of goal when he was set through by Chimwemwe Idana but Paul Ndlovu made a brilliant block to deny the hosts from taking a lead.
At the other end, Mafco FC created their first goal scoring opportunity from a corner kick but Martin Masoatheka’s header went over the crossbar after an intervention from Kesten Simbi.
With 16 minutes played, the hosts kept on pressing and they should have taken a lead through Babatunde who received a through ball from Idana but the forward was denied by Jailosi Kapalamula who was quick to come out of his comfort zone.
Minutes later, Nkhoma also found himself in a similar situation with the goalkeeper but his shot was saved by the advanced Kapalamula for a corner which was easily cleared by Frank Willard.
As Bullets kept on pushing, Mafco nearly capitalized from a counter attack when a long ball from Dan Chimbalanga found Peter Kasonga but the forward rushed to shoot at goal where Rabson Chiyenda was steady and made an easy save.
Bullets finally broke the deadlock in a brilliant fashion.
A corner by Mwaungulu was cleared away by Ndlovu only to land at Gomezgani Chirwa whose cross found Idana at the other side of the field.
The midfielder wasted no time by laying the ball down to Mwaungulu who crossed the ball into the box and was headed away by Aubrey Chafewa but landed directly at Sambani who produced a thunderous volley that went straight into the net, 1-0.
This goal changed the dimension of the game as Bullets kept on pushing for more but Nkhoma, twice, failed to beat Kapalamula who was making making series of mistakes in the line of duty.
The People’s Team threatened once again when Chirwa and Mwaungulu exchanged passes to deliver a very dangerous ball into the box to Henry Kabichi but the winger failed to connect with no Mafco FC defender on sight.
It was now a one sided affair, with Bullets attacking from all angles but they weren’t clinical enough in front of goals as they wasted another opportunity on the stroke of the interval when Mwaungulu found space down the right side of the box and curled the ball from a tight angle towards the far corner and it wasn’t far wide.
After the recess, Bullets continued from where they stopped in the first half and had their first opportunity in the 51st minute when Sambani’s shot inside the six-yard box from a Mwaungulu’s freekick was saved by Kapalamula.
The visitors were playing second fiddle and their coach Stereo Gondwe had to make a triple substitution when he brought in Levison Singano, Walusungu Mpata and Yohane Malunga for Kasonga, Alexander Sikwambe and Chafewa to try to tame Bullets’ pace which came from their wingers.
The change brought some stability to their defence and they started to attack through Mpata who, on several occasions, delivered some dangerous crosses into Bullets’ penalty box but Nickson Nyasulu and his defensive partner Simbi were just too stubborn to unlock in the line of duty.
Pasuwa then introduced Yankho Singo and Misheck Selemani for Kabichi and Nkhoma in the 60th minute whilst Masoatheka was replaced by Mphatso Phillimon.
Singo came close for Pasuwa’s men shortly after his introduction when Kapalamula gifted the ball to Mwaungulu before Ndlovu’s intervention to block the ball which landed to Singo but his shot just missed the goal mouth with an inch.
Babatunde nearly punished the visitors when he won the ball inside the attacking zone but the forward decided to take matters into his hands when he dribbled past Ndlovu but his weaker shot was saved by Kapalamula when passing to Mwaungulu should have been the best option as he placed himself on a very shooting space.
With the clock ticking very fast, the game could have gone either way as Bullets survived by a thread after Nkhonjera’s cross from the left found Phillimon unmarked and headed the ball at goal but it hit the upright before a clearance from Nyasulu to maintain his side’ lead.
On 86th minute, Nkhonjera was replaced by Zikani Sichinga for the visitors who were still pushing for the goal and Bullets introduced Righteous Banda and Anthony Mfune for Babatunde and Mwaungulu.
Inside the additional minutes, both teams had chances but missed and it was Bullets who claimed all the important points to regain back the top position with 13 points, level with Blue Eagles but the defending champions have a better goal difference.
Elsewhere, Civil Service United and Karonga United played out to a 1-1 draw at Civo Stadium in Lilongwe.
Arnold Masamba opened the scoring for the hosts but Ramadhan Ntafu leveled for the visitors who claimed a point from their two Northern Region outing after they lost 1-0 to Blue Eagles on Saturday.
This means the Northern Region based outfit’ search for their first win continues and they occupy 14th position with three points from six games.
As for the Servants, back to back draws leaves them in Tenth position with six points from five games.
