In one half, there is Blue Eagles, currently playing their trade in the Central Region Football League following their relegation to the second tier at the end of the 2023 season in the TNM Super League.
In the other half, there is FCB Nyasa Big Bullets- serial Malawian champions who are the reigning FDH Bank Cup champions, Super League defending champions, Airtel Top 8 Cup defending champions and the Castel Challenge Cup defending champions.
Under Kalisto Pasuwa, the Malawi champions have evolved into formidable cup specialists, and their records are there for everyone to see.
However, they have had a tough start to their league title defence after only managing five wins, two losses and nine draws, sitting eighth in the table with 24 points, 16 points behind Silver Strikers who are topping the standings.
Despite this setback, Bullets remain the benchmark club in Malawian football. As such, they may be marginal favourites heading into this highly anticipated final at Bingu National Stadium on Sunday.
However, Eagles, who defeated Bullets 1-0 in the Airtel Cup final in 2018 at the same venue, will also stand tall and look to maintain their unbeaten run in any cup final.
Statistics show that the area 30-based side is unbeaten in their last five cup final appearances, winning the Chibuku Cup in 1995, the then Standard Bank Cup in 2011, the Carlsberg Cup in 2012, the Airtel Top 8 Cup in 2015 and the then FISD Cup in 2019. The tussle should be enterprising.
FORM GUIDE
Bullets go into this contest with a mixed bag of results. In the last four games across all the competitions, The People’s Team has had two wins, one draw and one loss. They drew 1-1 with Moyale Barracks in the Super League before travelling to Lilongwe for the first leg of the CAF Champions League preliminary first-round tie against Zambia’s Red Arrows.
Against all odds, Bullets, like a wounded lion ready to pounce on its prey, rose to the occasion with a come-back 2-1 victory to go into the second leg with a slender lead.
The next assignment was against Moyale for a place in the final of this cup. It was a match in which Pasuwa’s men dominated by taking the game to the opposition who had earlier frustrated them in the league.
After the end of 90 minutes, Bullets won 3-1 courtesy of a brace from Babatunde Adepoju and a lone strike from Ephraim Kondowe to beat the Soldiers 3-1 and book the final slot.
They then travelled to Lusaka for the return leg against Arrows, which they lost 2-0 to exit Africa’s biggest club knockout competition with a 3-2 aggregate loss.
As for the opponents, in the last four games, they registered three draws and one big victory in the Chipiku League.
They drew 1-1 against Wimbe FC, Dzaleka Future Stars, and Chatoloma Admarc before beating Chisomo Academy 4-1.
In the Super League, the defending champions are at their lowest point, having dropped to 8th position with 24 points from 16 games, winning five, losing twice, and registering nine draws while Eliya Kananji’s side, who were relegated to Chipiku Central Region Football League at the end of the 2023 season, are flying high in their quest for a return to the top flight league.
Eagles lead group B with 25 points from 11 games, winning seven games, four draws, and no defeat, scoring 38 goals and conceding 9 goals.
ROAD TO THE FINAL
The two teams have charted different paths to the final, with Bullets posting significant winning margins against their previous opponents.
From the Round of 32, Bullets faced four Super League teams to reach this level while Eagles played against three Super League sides and one fellow Premier Division side to make it to the final.
Bangwe All Stars fell on the wrong side of some lopsided result as the defending champions breezed through to Round 16 with five unanswered goals.
The next opponent was Mighty Mukuru Wanderers in the Round of 16 at Kamuzu Stadium. This was a match and a half as Bullets came guns blazing to claim all the bragging rights with a hard-fought 2-1 win over their rivals to book a place in the Last Eight where Civil Service United was awaiting.
This quarterfinal match was an intense contest as Bullets needed a last-minute strike from substitute Precious Phiri to beat their opponents 1-0 to advance to the semis of the competition.
In the semis, Bullets did what was necessary to dispose of Moyale with a comfortable 3-1 win to date Eagles in the final.
Kananji’s men hosted Silver Strikers in the Round of 32. The match, despite Eagles’s dominance, failed to produce a winner in the normal time, and penalties had to come in to separate the two.
The area 30-based side triumphed in the shootout, beating Peter Mponda’s men 5-4 to progress to the Round of 16 where Santhe Admarc was the next opponent.
Playing a fellow Premier Division side wasn’t easy for Eagles who, for the second time in the competition, needed penalties to advance to the quarterfinals.
The regulation time ended without a goal, but Kananji’s men progressed to the next stage with a 4-2 penalty win over their opposition.
They met Baka City in the Last Eight at Karonga Stadium. Eagles comfortably beat them 3-0 to reach the semis of the cup where Karonga United was standing on their way to the final.
The semifinal tie against Oscar Kaunda’s charges was very intense, entertaining, and without drama. Despite all this, Eagles won 2-0 to book a place in the final.
HEAD-TO-HEAD
This will be the fourth cup final meeting between the two teams. In the previous three, Eagles won all the matches. They won the Chibuku Cup, Press Cup and Airtel Top 8 Cup at the expense of the Malawian giants. They won all three matches with a 1-0 margin.
However, the last cup meeting between the finalists was in November last year in the Airtel Top 8 Cup semis which Bullets won 3-2 at Sunday’s venue.
When it comes to league matches, Bullets have had eleven wins against Eagles’ three since 2013, with seven matches ending in draws.
BULLETS’ CUP FINAL PERFORMANCES AT BINGU
Ever since the magnificent stadium was completed in 2016, The People’s Team has featured in four cup finals.
They first appeared in the Carlsberg Cup final against Wanderers in 2017. The regulation time ended 2-2, but Bullets won 5-4 on penalties to win the cup.
They returned to the venue in 2017, where they faced Sunday’s opponents in the Airtel Top 8 Cup.
The match was controversially won by Eagles in the last minute through Stewart Mbunge’s strike from the spot, beating them 1-0 to win the cup.
In the 2022 season, Bullets failed to defend the Airtel Top 8 Cup when they lost 5-4 to Wanderers. The normal time ended 0-0.
But in the 2023 season, Bullets had a double celebration at the venue. They first beat Mafco FC 3-0 to win their second FDH Bank Cup trophy. They then beat Silver Strikers 4-2 on penalties to win the Castel Challenge Cup following a 1-1 result in the regulation time.
EAGLES’S CUP FINAL PERFORMANCES AT BINGU
Since 2016, this will be the second time the Eagles have played a cup final at the facility. They won the Airtel Top 8 Cup in 2018 by beating Bullets 1-0, but since then, they haven’t appeared at the venue in a cup final.
However, they are unbeaten in their last five cup final appearances, winning the Chibuku Cup in 1995, the 2011 Standard Bank Cup, the Carlsberg Cup in 2012, the Airtel Top 8 Cup in 2015, and the then FISD Cup in 2019.
HOW THE TWO COACHES HAVE PERFORMED IN CUP FINALS
Kananji, who once guided Bullets to two Carlsberg Cup successes in 2014 and 2017 as well as winning the league in 2017, is unbeaten in all his cup final matches.
He was successful with Bullets in the 2014 and 2017 Carlsberg Cup finals and he did the same in 2016 when he guided Wanderers to the Carlsberg Cup triumph.
On the other hand, Pasuwa has only lost one cup final, losing 5-4 to Wanderers in the 2022 Airtel Top 8 Cup final but he has won five cup titles, winning the 2021 and 2023 Airtel Top 8 Cup titles, the 2022 and 2023 FDH Bank titles, and the 2023 Castel Challenge Cup.
WHAT THE TWO COACHES SAID AHEAD OF THE MATCH
Kananji: “We have an upper hand over them because we are unbeaten against Bullets in the last three cup finals. However, we shouldn’t go into the game with this mentally. We need to be at our level best.”
Pasuwa: As Bullets, I have been talking to the boys to make their history because we had some players who are no longer active, and they made history; it was not their names. These current players should make history for themselves and be part of a team that has beaten Blue Eagles. For us to do that, we need to be in the right sense of mind to do everything positive and to avoid complacency.
“The players shouldn’t see Blue Eagles as a team from the lower division, they should see their opponents
as a team that is also hungry for success so that by the end of it all, we should be able to defend the cup.”
Pictures courtesy of Bullets and Blue Eagles media teams.
