FCB Nyasa Big Bullets marched into their third straight FDH Bank Cup final following an impressive 3-1 victory over Moyale Barracks at Bingu National Stadium on Wednesday evening under the floodlights.
The win secured the Malawi champions a spot in the final which will take place at the same venue against Blue Eagles next month.
Despite displaying an entertaining football to the fans, there was a delay of thirty minutes after it was reported that Moyale’s bus had developed a fault.
This saw none of the two teams doing warm-ups as Moyale went straight into the pitch while Bullets refused to do their warmup in the absence of the hosts.
In-form striker Babatunde Adepoju scored twice, with the other goal coming from Ephraim Kondowe while Emmanuel Allan scored Moyale’s consolation goal.
What happened
Straight from their hard-fought 2-1 win over Zambia’s Red Arrows FC in the CAF Champions League, Kalisto Pasuwa’s men had another important task to fulfil before flying to Lusaka for the return leg.
In a fast-paced opening half against the soldiers, The People’s Team had an opportunity right from the first whistle as they charged forward through Babatunde. The striker made an excellent run on the left flank before hitting the ball straight at Maneno Nyoni for a corner kick which was easily defended by the hosts.
On possession, Bullets dominated the play, kept their opponents at bay and moved in the offensive zone with a pace but the defensive duo of Victor Mwale and Nyoni made sure the game was still at 0-0.
Moyale’s first attempt at goal came 15th minute when their dangerous striker and a leading scorer in the cup, Allan, released a very powerful strike that forced Richard Chimbamba to make the first serious save.
Bullets remained in the hosts’ half of the pitch in search of the opening goal which they eventually got in the 21st minute.
Babatunde made a brilliant run to the right flank before sending a low pass into the box to Kondowe who made no mistake but to slot the ball past Olyce Nkhwazi, 0-1.
The visitors made it 2-0 in the 26th minute following yet another brilliant counter-attacking football from the right flank of the field.
Willard spotted Billiat to the far end and the winger made an excellent run before sending a dangerous pass into the box to Babatunde who had a simple task of just slotting the ball past the defenceless Nkhwazi, 0-2.
However, despite conceding the two goals, Mwansa’s men did not take their foot off the pedal as they pressed in a desperate bid for an equalizer which they almost had in the 29th minute when Mpokera brought down Khumbo Mhone on the edge of the penalty box.
Nyoni stepped up and he was just very unfortunate to see his goal-bound effort hitting the wall for a corner kick which almost resulted in a goal but Ronald Chitiyo made a timely clearance to deny Allan from finding the back of the net.
With 33 minutes played, Mwansa brought in Chifundo Damba for Bornface Chuma to try to add more firepower and possibly reduce the arrears before the interval.
Within the space period of five minutes before the recess, the Mzuzu-based soldiers had three corner kicks which were all dealt with by Nickson Nyasulu’s led defense.
Another set piece on the stroke of halftime came close to producing the home side’s opener as defender Mwale flicked the ball towards Chimbamba’s near post, but Bullets keeper had it covered as he dived low to his left to make a save and that was all for the half.
The start of the second period saw the hosts dominating possession as Bullets dropped their energy levels, especially in the middle of the field where Chitiyo was completely tired and wasn’t able to contain the dominating midfield of Clifford Chimulambe and Peter Ng’ambi.
For the next seven minutes, Pasuwa’s men were exposed to an intense attack from the hosts who were coming with guns blazing and they nearly reduced the arrears in the 48th minute when Luke Chima connected well from Damba’s cross into the penalty box but his powerful header missed Chimbamba’s upright with an inch.
The home side’s toil for a goal ended in the 53rd minute when Allan headed into an empty net from Damba’s excellent delivery into the box.
This goal set up a dramatic close to the contest as the Lions of Kaning’ina sensed an opportunity to draw level.
After the hour-mark, Pasuwa brought in Lloyd Aaron for Chitiyo to try to regain control of the midfield which, at the moment, was in the hands of the hosts.
The coming in of Aaron brought stability in the middle of the field for Pasuwa’s men but Moyale kept on sending long balls into the box that kept Bullets’ defenders under massive pressure.
It was an action-packed match, with Moyale controlling possession while Bullets, who were slowly showing signs of fatigue, were now second on the ball.
It appeared as if the equalizer was not very far off until another decisive moment with 19 minutes left on the clock, brought about by Babatunde.
The forward won the ball inside Bullets’ half in the 71st minute and wrestled his way into the offensive zone before dribbling past Mwale, Lovemore Jere, Nyoni and rounded off Nkhwazi to slot the ball into an empty net, bagging his third goal in this year’s competition, 1-3.
This goal was all that Bullets needed and Pasuwa knew the job was done and dusted as he brought in Sean McBrams and Sambani for Billiat and Kondowe.
The hosts had a few half-chances in the dying moments, the best of which came from Chima who went wide from range.
They were however unable to claw their way back into the contest as the defending champions closed out the game to book their third consecutive FDH Bank Cup final.
However, they suffered a late setback when Aaron was stretched off due to an injury and he will be assessed by the team doctors if he will be fit for Saturday’s game against Arrows.
Babatunde was named Man of the Match for his impressive performance throughout the match.
Extra reporting from Bullets media
