Nyasa Big Bullets moved eight points clear and extended their unbeaten run in the Super League following their hard-fought 1-0 victory over Kamuzu Barracks at Civo Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
Head coach Kalisto Pasuwa made two changes to the side that hammered Mighty Tigers 5-0 last week.
Hassan Kajoke and MacFallen Mgwira returned to the starting eleven for the first time since the end of April while Charles Kamanga benched Horace Nchoma for Gilbert Nkhokwe who was operating from the left.
It was a tough match due to a dry and bumpy pitch, a situation which saw both teams failing to play a passing game and resorting to long balls in desperate move to find a goal.
Bullets started brightly and had their first corner kick in the second minute but Herbert Wayekha cleared the ball out of KB’s half to safety.
Two minutes later, a long ball from Hadji Wali found Babatunde Adepoju who beat the offside trap but his first time volley swerved away from Hastings Banda’s goal area.
The opening 15 minutes saw more of Bullets than the hosts but every cross into the box found Wayekha who was very outstanding in defence for the ‘Chiwoko Boys’.
The first clear chance of the day for Kamuzu Barracks fell through to Zeliat Nkhoma who made his way to the offensive zone before shooting at goal but Richard Chimbamba was equal to the task with a save.
Bullets came close to breaking the deadlock in the 27 minutes when Wali’s header from a Patrick Mwaungulu’s cross hit the post and that was the only clear chance for Bullets in the opening half.
At the other end, Chimwemwe Chisambi found Matthias Nyirenda clear at goal and the former Tigers forward wasted no time by releasing a thunderous shot which called Chimbamba into action with a brilliant save for a corner kick.
As the half was heading towards the recess, Bullets had an attempt at goal but Kajoke mis-timed his shot for a goal kick and that was all for the half.
Before kicking off the final half, Pasuwa introduced Precious Phiri for Mgwira who had earlier on received a yellow card.
Phiri saw his shot from the center of the penalty box going wide after he was found unmarked by Precious Sambani.
After the half-hour mark, Pasuwa brought in Stainley Billiat and Henry Kabichi for Mwaungulu and Kajoke whilst Charles Kamanga introduced Ndaona Daisi for Chisambi.
But chances were few, with long balls being the business of the day.
There was a period in which Bullets dominated but every dead ball ended up in the hands of Banda as no one in a white and red shirt was closer to the penalty box to finish off the job.
However, the moment that Bullets were waiting for arrived in the 74th minute.
Phiri set through Gomezgani Chirwa who made a first time connection to send a square ball into the box to the on-rushing Babatunde who made no mistake to put the ball into the back of the net, 0-1.
This goal was all what Bullets needed and they started pressuring and they should have had another goal in the 78th minute when Chimwemwe Idana played through Phiri but his weaker shot was well blocked by Sam Chibvunde.
Nyirenda was then replaced by Manasseh Chiyesa whilst Isaac Badu made his first time appearance when he replaced Blessings Mpokera in the midfield.
This was also a period in which KB pressurized Bullets, with Daisi hitting the side net before another miss from Nkhoma.
The reigning champions were living dangerously as KB resorted to aerial balls in the penalty box but Wali, Kesten Simbi, Chirwa and Sambani’s defence rose up to the occasion with brilliant interceptions.
The visitors were hit with a massive blow when Simbi was stretched off after he was elbowed by Kelvin Hanganda and he was replaced by Nickson Nyasulu.
Ninety minutes on the clock saw the referee adding four minutes but this was met by another injury to Banda who was replaced by Lehman Nthala but Bullets stood firm to collect maximum points, registering their eighth straight win. The defending champions comfortably sit at the top of the summit with 38 points.
As for KB, this is their sixth game without a win and are stuck in the fifth position with 20 points from 13 games.
At Dedza Stadium, Dedza Dynamos registered a 3-2 win over Ekwendeni Hammers to move up to seventh position with 18 points from 13 games.
Promise Kamwendo became the first player in the ongoing season to score a hat-trick after his goals inspired Dedza Dynamos to a victory over Ekwendeni Hammers.
At one point, the match was at 2-2 after Isaac Msiska and Richard Rapson leveled for the Mzuzu based side but the striker, who was playing for Extreme FC, netted the third goal to send the fans into frenzy after returning to Dedza Stadium for the first time in years.
The defeat leaves Edison Kadenge’s team just two points above the drop zone with 13 points from 14 games.
At Karonga Stadium, Karonga United and Sable Farming played out to a 1-1 draw.
Steve Saka scored for the hosts before his goal was canceled out by Chifundo Ngapenga.
The result saw Karonga United dropping to eight with 17 points from 13 games whilst Sable Farming are still 14th with 11 points from the same number of games.
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