Ten-man Nyasa Big Bullets came from behind to beat Sable Farming 3-1 at Mulanje Park Stadium on Sunday afternoon and progress to the last 16 of FDH Bank Cup competition.
It was the second competitive meeting between the two sides in the space of fifteen days, with the visitors looking to secure a second consecutive victory over the Chiradzulu based outfit, who they had overcome in the league on the final day of the first round matches at Kamuzu Stadium in Blantyre.
Bullets’ first shot on target in the match came through Lanjesi Nkhoma whose deflected cross into the danger zone hit the upright and was cleared to the safety by White Kitiseni.
And against the run of play, the hosts, who were lagging behind interms of ball possession, took a surprising lead in the 20th minute through Chifundo Ngapenga who capitalized on a defensive relapse from The People’s Team, 1-0.
Billiat had an opportunity to equalize when he got on the end of a beautiful pass from Babatunde Adepoju but the winger could not direct his shot into the net with Fletcher Jamali already beaten in the line of duty.
On 28th minute, Babatunde and Chimwemwe Idana exchanged passes to find Ernest Petro clear on a shooting space but the midfielder saw his goal-bound shot well blocked by Sheban Kassim who was very outstanding for the hosts in defence.
At the other end, Franklin Mlimanjira delivered a very dangerous cross into Bullets’ box from a freekick which was cleared by Kesten Simbi.
At 35 minutes, Mponda brought in Macfallen Mgwira for Billiat to try to add more numbers in attack in search of the equalizing goal as the clock was ticking very fast for the visitors.
With 40 minutes played, the hosts were dealt with a massive blow when Jamali sustained an injury after he collided with Mgwira in an aerial combat.
This forced MacDonald Mtetemera to replace the injured goalkeeper with Christopher Mikuwa, who made his first save on 43rd minute to deny Babatunde from finding the back of the net.
On the dot of extra minutes, Bullets leveled.
A brilliant work from Babatunde saw him making a run into the box before sending a dangerous ball to Lanjesi Nkhoma who tapped in to beat Mikuwa in the line of duty, 1-1.
In the second half, Bullets came out blazing and attacked from all angles through Precious Sambani and Gomezgani Chirwa who added numbers in attack, making life very difficult for Mtetemera’s back four.
In the 48th minute, a cross from Mgwira into the box was flicked by Idana to Petro who could only see his header going over the crossbar in an unbelievable circumstances.
Babatunde was next to get into a goal-scoring position in the 51st minute, following a move started by Idana near the halfway line, where Petro, Mgwira and Chirwa all had touches before Bullets’ striker miscued his shot over the upright for a goalkick.
Much of the traffic in the opening minutes of the final half continued to be directed towards the hosts, but Sable’s defense kept on making timely clearance to frustrate the hosts.
Bullets doubled their lead in the 53rd minute through Chirwa, who had started a move down the right before releasing Idana who wasted no time by sending the ball to Babatunde who took a first time shot, hitting Mikuwa before Chirwa’s tap in to send the whole Stadium into a frenzy, 1-2.
This goal saw Mtetemera making a double substitution by introducing Emmanuel Lino for Simeon Singa who wasn’t having a good day as he was closely monitored by Blessings Mpokera in the defensive midfield for The People’s Team.
At the other end of the field, Lino sent a pin-point cross to Ngapenga, whose flick towards goal went straight to Richard Chimbamba.
Babatunde had a clear goal-scoring opportunity on 70th minute when he was found in a one on one situation with Mikuwa but surprisingly, his chip went wide with the goalkeeper already beaten.
Mwaungulu was then introduced in the 72nd minute, replacing Petro in the central midfield to add more attacking numbers upfront.
Bullets kept on creating more scoring opportunities but twice, Babatunde saw his powerful shots going over the crossbar in 76th to 78th minute of the match.
79 minutes on, Innocent Chipolopolo and Humphrey Chimwaza replaced Christopher Gototo and Stain Patrick for Sable Farming who were desperate to find the leveler.
The visitors were then reduced to ten men in the 80th minute when Nyasulu was shown a second yellow card after he threw the ball away when referee Zebron Lengani had given the hosts a freekick inside Bullets’ half.
But despite this, Bullets added third goal in a brilliant style.
Babatunde started the move with a cheeky pass before releasing Mgwira who thjen controlled the ball before sending a million dollar cross to the striker who headed straight into the net, 1-3.
Resilient defense was required from the visitors near the end, and they produced just that to hang on to their 1-3 advantage, clinching an important victory to make it through to the next round where they will now face Moyale Barracks at home.
At Civo Stadium, Muhammad Biyasoni scored the only way to inspire Civil Service United to a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Baka City to progress to the next round of the competition.
It was a match in which Bashir Maunde saw his penalty kick well saved by the visitors’ goalkeeper.
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