Nyasa Big Bullets will play either Kamuzu Barracks or Silver Strikers in the semifinal of Airtel Top 8 Cup after they were held to a 1-1 draw away to Karonga United on Saturday afternoon to advance with a massive 8-1 goal aggregate.
Defending champions Nyasa Big Bullets are through to the semifinals of Airtel Top 8 Cup after they were held to a 1-1 draw away to Karonga United on Saturday afternoon to advance with an 8-1-goal margin.
The People’s Team went into the match with a 7-0 goal advantage from the first leg which was played a fortnight ago at Kamuzu Stadium and the match was further put beyond their opponents’ reach when Hassan Kajoke scored with his first touch in the fifth minute of the match.
The hosts needed to score eight goals for them to progress to the next round, a task which was just too big for Christopher Nyambose’s men and from the word go, his team couldn’t do what was necessary in order to overturn the deficit which he vowed to when he was speaking to the local media.
The People’s Team were on the scoresheet in the fifth minute when the hosts failed to beat an offside trap and Kajoke was at the receiving end of Yamikani Fodya’s long ball before slotting home past Lloyd Munthali who was defenseless, putting the game at 1-8.
The visitors had another chance just after the quarter-hour mark when Lanjesi Nkhoma played Thomson Magombo through to the offensive zone but the midfielder saw his low cross shot well saved by Munthali before it bounced off to Kajoke who was slow to react from the rebound as he allowed Eric Atsigah to make a timely intervention.
The pitch was bumpy and dry and the only way for Bullets, who could hardly complete five passes, was to use secondary balls in order to adapt against an opponent which had mastered the art of playing at a such surface.
Slowly, Karonga United started taking the game to Bullets and they could make some passes inside the middle of the field but to unlock John Lanjesi’s led back-four proved too difficult for them.
With half-hour mark played, Nyambose brought in Sherrif Shamama for Henry Chiwaya to try to force something out of the game and it was this change that made Bullets sweat for their money as Shamama caused havoc with his runs especially to the left-flank where he was operating.
32 minutes into the half, Richard Chimbamba was called into action when he left his line of defense to clear a dangerous ball which came from Josiah Duwa.
With five minutes left to play, the hosts almost pulled level when Bullets defenders were caught in the mix and failed to clear Mphatso Kamanga’ long ball into the box which found Duwa unmarked but the winger saw his shot hitting the upright when Chimbamba was already beaten in the line of duty.
The hosts were pressing from all angles and in the last three minutes of the half, they had four back to back corner kicks which were cleared by the defending champions and that was all for the half.
In the second half, ‘Ingwina’ mostly used their wingers to advance into the final third but Fodya and Nickson Nyasulu kept them at bay, neutralizing every dangerous movement and this suffocated Shamama who couldn’t receive balls in the offensive zone.
However, Karonga United had an opportunity to level in the 53rd minute through Kamanga who failed to connect home a well taken cross by Bobby Longwe from a freekick.
At the other end, Bullets created their first goal scoring opportunity in the 60th minute when Nkhoma made an excellent pass to Kajoke who was found in a one on one situation with the goalkeeper but his weaker shot was easily saved by the shot-stopper who came out of his defensive line.
In the 62nd minute, Pasuwa brought in Righteous Banda for Magombo to try to regain the central midfield which was mostly dominated by Kamanga and Duwa.
After pressing, the hosts were able to level in the 63rd minute from a corner kick.
The first set-piece from Shamama was connected well by Kamanga after Chimbamba misjudged the ball which he failed to catch but he had Nyasulu to thank as he cleared the ball before crossing the line for another cornerkick.
It was from the second corner kick from which Longwe connected into the net, beating Chimbamba from the far post into the top corner,1-1.
Pasuwa was fighting for a clean record heading into the semis and sensing how dangerous the hosts were making advances into the offensive zone, he had to introduce Misheck Selemani, Mphatso Magaleta and MacFarlane Mgwira for Kabichi, Lungu and Precious Phiri on 73rd minute.
The hosts had an opportunity in the 76th minute from a set piece which was quickly taken by Shamama but his long range shot was easily saved by Chimbamba.
The last ten minutes saw Bullets defending with caution whilst their opponents threw everything upfront to atleast get a goal and eventually beat Bullets but it was never meant to be as the visitors progressed to the last four with a massive 8-1 goal aggregate.
The People’s Team will wait for the winner between Kamuzu Barracks and Silver Strikers who will meet in the second leg next week. The first leg ended 1-1.
