FCB Nyasa Big Bullets avoided what could have been another heartbreaking defeat at home when Lameck Gamphani scored late play out to a 1-all draw against Dedza Dynamos in the TNM Super League match at Kamuzu Stadium on Thursday afternoon.
Lameck Gamphani scored in the last minute of the added time to salvage a point for FCB Nyasa Big Bullets during a 1-all draw against Dedza Dynamos at Kamuzu Stadium on Thursday afternoon.
Fresh from their 2-1 win over Mighty Mukuru Wanderers last Saturday, Kalisto Pasuwa made four changes to his team when he handed starts to Ephraim Kondowe, Clyde Senaji, Frank Willard and Lloyd Aaron for Yamikani Mologeni, Wongani Lungu, Maxwell Phodo and Yankho Singo.
What happened…
From the onset, the signs of a tough afternoon for the defending champions were there as the visitors played without fear and made their intentions known in the opening minutes of the match.
Bullets had no shot at goal in the opening 15 minutes of the match, and they nearly conceded a goal in the 18th minute when Marko Chiwaya unleashed a very powerful shot outside the penalty box that was well saved by Richard Chimbamba for a corner kick which was well defended by Senaji.
The host’s opportunity came in the 25th minute when Gift Magola handled the ball inside the penalty box. Referee Zebron Lengani, who was closer to the scene, wasted no time by awarding Bullets a penalty, the first penalty awarded to the defending champions in the 2024 league season.
However, Babatunde Adepoju stepped up and saw his penalty well saved by Donnex Mwakasinga, and from the rebound, he hit the post, 0-0.
This penalty miss frustrated Bullets players who were now just passing the ball anyhow, but to move into the final third to create meaningful chances proved to be a very difficult task for Pasuwa’s men.
There was nothing to write about in this opening half.
After the recess, Pasuwa made a triple substitution by introducing Lungu, Mologeni, and Ernest Petro to improve his attacking prowess.
The first opportunity in this half fell to Kondowe, who was found unmarked by Mologeni’s cross, but the forward produced a weaker header that went wide off Mwakasinga’s right-hand post
The visitors brought in Ibrahim Sadik for Lennox Kiwambe in the 58th minute.
The substitute made his impact known when he gave Andrew Bunya’s side a lead in the 65th minute. Chifuniro Mpinganjira made his way into the box before forcing Chimbamba to make a save, and from the rebound, Sadik fired straight at goal, beating the shot-stopper to his far post, 0-1.
The goal meant one thing for Pasuwa’s charges: a mountain to climb in order to level and, possibly, score another goal to win the game.
It was one-way traffic for Bullets as they kept on banging on the Dynamos’ door in search of an equaliser.
Chances were created by Bullets, but to put the ball into the net was a huge task for the hosts who were also left frustrated by Mwakasinga’s anti-football delaying tactics that resulted in unnecessary stoppages.
Phodo came in for Kondowe in the 65th minute as Bullets pushed everyone in front in search of the much-needed goal.
In the 70th minute, Babatunde was set through by Nickson Nyasulu, but the forward failed to win the ball as Mwakasinga made a save to keep his side in the lead.
Pasuwa brought in Gamphani for Chitiyo in the 75th minute. Bullets kept on pushing and should have had a goal in the 82nd minute when Gamphani’s free-kick met Petro, who produced a powerful header that was well saved by Mwakasinga and from the rebound, both Phodo and Babatunde failed to capitalise as Lughani Kayira made a timely clearance.
The pressure was mounting on Bullets who pushed for the equalizer. Aaron was next to try his luck when his long-range shot was deflected for a corner kick in the 86th minute.
Gamphani stepped up but saw his set piece well saved by Mwakasinga, who then wasted more minutes again as he called for medical attention to keep on frustrating the home fans.
With two minutes left to play, Khumbo Banda, who was already on a yellow card, committed a foul, and instead of accepting the referee’s decision, he exchanged words with Lengani to leave the referee with no choice but to flash a second yellow card to the visiting player.
With one man advantage, Bullets kept on fighting. Seven minutes were added to the clock, and Gamphani had a chance to level, but his attempt missed Mwakasinga’s goalpost with an inch.
However, the People’s Team levelled in the final minute of the added minutes.
A long ball from Aaron to Mapemba saw the converted left-back sending a dangerous ball to the far end, which was connected into the net by Gamphani, who, in showing respect to his former team, did not celebrate the goal.
There were ugly scenes soon after Bullets’s equalizer as Dedza players manhandled Kalenga and the second assistant referee, Rajab Symon.
Lengani flashed another red card to Edward Dakalira for the descent, and in the end, 1-1 was the result between the two teams.
The result leave Bullets in fourth position with 41 position, 12 points behind Silver Strikers in the title race with six games left to play.
At Mzuzu Stadium, Moyale Barracks hammered Baka City 4-1 to officially relegate the Karonga-based side back to the Simso League.
Goals from Emmanuel Allan, Khumbo Mhone, Raphael Phiri, and Jimmy Viyuyi were enough to secure all the points for Prichard Mwansa’s men who moved up to sixth in the table with 36 points from 25 games.
At Nankhaka Stadium, Mafco FC and Bangwe All Stars played out to a goalless draw. The result sees Bangwe stuck in the relegation zone with 21 points from 25 games while Mafco is 10th with 35 points from 26 games.
