FCB Nyasa Big Bullets staged a late comeback to beat Red Arrows 2-1 in the CAF Champions League first-round preliminary round match at Bingu National Stadium on a Sunday afternoon.
The match came at a time when the domestic champions are currently struggling in the league, but in the afternoon, they made sure to bounce back from their local disappointments with an emphatic win ahead of the second leg next Saturday.
In what promised to be a tightly contested encounter, the two teams entered the match with determination and the hope of gaining an early advantage, especially the hosts who were very offensive in the opening minutes.
What happened
From the starting eleven, it was evident that Kalisto Pasuwa went for the kill with the inclusion of Ronald Chitiyo in the central attacking role while Frank Willard was dropped to the bench for Lloyd Aaron.
The hosts created their first chance in the 5th minute through Maxwell Phodo, who fired over the crossbar.
Two minutes later, Phodo was at it again, this time around, failing to finish off an excellent delivery from Precious Sambani inside the penalty box but the attacker saw his weaker shot easily saved by Charles Kalumba and from the rebound, Babatunde Adepoju was late to arrive and allowed Peter Kalota to make a timely clearance.
The first ten minutes belonged to the Bullets, who were pressing for an early goal. They nearly got one in the 9th minute when Sambani sent another inviting cross into the box which was bound for Babatunde but Michee Malonga made a brilliant clearance to concede the first corner kick which was easily defended by the visitors.
As Bullets pressed for a goal, the visitors were slowly coming into the game as they started moving into the attacking zone with pace and precision but they lacked the finishing composure in front of Richard Chimbamba’s goal.
With 25 minutes played, Arrows created their first goal-scoring opportunity through Ackim Mumba, whose shot was easily saved by Chimbamba.
The visitors almost punished Bullets in the 30th minute when Chimbamba made a late decision to clear the ball away from the box and lost the ball to Mumba who played a fast one to Godfrey Ngwenya but his shot was saved by the shot-stopper who made amends from his error.
With four minutes left to play before recess, Phodo had a clear chance inside the penalty box when he got the ball from Babatunde but he shot straight at Kalumba who was handling every threat thrown at him with ease.
Against the run of play, Brian Chilimina made his way into the box before releasing a thunderous shot that was well-saved by Chimbamba.
Pasuwa’s men had their last chance in the final minute of the half, but Chitiyo blasted his effort over the crossbar, and that was all for the half.
After the recess, Arrows coach, Chisa Mbewe, brought in Saddam Yusuf Phiri for Cedrick Onyumbu to increase their attacking prowess.
It was now a game of tactical battle, with Arrows keeping possession while Bullets closed down the attacking spaces to minimise the opposition’s chances of getting a goal.
The hosts had another chance in the 48th minute when Phodo made a brilliant move to his right before sending a cross into the box to Precious Phiri who did everything right by firing at goal but Kalumba was once again equal to the task with an incredible save.
At the other end, Chimbamba was called into action when he smartly cleared an inviting cross from Yusuf to keep the game at 0-0.
The next seven minutes saw Bullets giving away the ball to the opposition unnecessarily, and from how the visitors were pressing, a goal was imminent.
In the 55th minute, both Precious Sambani and Clyde Senaji ball watched a long throw-in from Alassane Diarra to Ricky Banda who sprinted to send a low cross pass which was bound for Saddam Yusuf but Nickson Nyasulu made a goal-saving tackle to concede a corner-kick which was well defended.
Two minutes after surviving, Bullets conceded. Banda dribbled past three defenders before slotting the ball home, beating Chimbamba, who could only see the ball rolling into an empty net, 0-1.
The hosts were in turmoil as they gave away the ball so cheaply to Banda, who found Diarra and having spotted Chimbamba out of his line, he tried his luck only to miss the goal mouth with an inch.
60 minutes on the clock, Pasuwa brought in Ephraim Kondowe and Stanley Billiat for Chitiyo and Phodo while Anthony Shipanuka came in for Mumba.
The visitors were defending too deep to protect their slender lead, and this invited more pressure from the hosts who were pressing in search of the equalizer.
At 68 minutes, Babatunde failed to put the ball into the net when he headed over the crossbar from Sambani’s excellent cross into the box.
In terms of play, Pasuwa’s men were able to pass around, move into the offensive zone, and create chances, but their finishing was very poor in the final third.
The clock was ticking very fast against the hosts who had the second leg in mind and the only way to keep their hopes alive was to score a goal or two to go into the second leg with confidence.
Indeed, they delivered when it mattered most in the 77th minute. Aaron was the architect of the goal. He made a brilliant run into the opposition’s half before finding Singo, who wasted no time by finding Babatunde on the edge of the box.
The attacker got the better of defender Malonga and faced the goal before shooting with anger to beat Kalumba to the far right. That was a screamer of a goal, and the goalkeeper could do nothing to stop the venomous shot from hitting the back of the net, 1-1.
This rejuvenated Bullets and their mission changed from ending the game at 1-1 to a team determined to get the result ahead of the return leg.
Sensing danger, Ciel Ebengo Ikoko and Derrick Bulaya replaced Ngwenya and Banda to try to balance the affair, which, at this moment, was being dominated by Bullets.
The turn-around was completed in the 82nd minute when Peter Kalota conceded a corner kick which caught the visitors napping in the line of duty and from the rebound, Phiri rose to the occasion with a powerful shot that beat everyone, including Kalumba, into the net, 2-1.
There was a chance for the visitors to pull level in the 88th minute, but Bulaya fired wide.
In the additional minutes, Singo was replaced by Blessings Mpokera. There was a last chance for the hosts when they launched a stunning counter-hurricane attack through Kondowe but Mpokera, who was the recipient of Kondowe’s pass, made a quick decision to fire at goal when passing to Babatunde was the best option as the three attackers had only two defenders to beat.
In the end, Bullets registered an important win to go into the second leg with confidence.
The winner between the two teams will face the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)’ TP Mazembe in the final qualifying round.
