Silver Strikers versus Mighty Mukuru Wanderers headlines the semifinal fixtures in the Airtel Top 8 Knockout Cup this weekend.
The area 47-based side has won this cup twice, winning it in its inaugural year in 2017 and again in 2019, while their opponents won it in the 2022 season.
The two teams are familiar opponents in this competition, having met four times, once in the 2017 final in which Wanderers lost 10-9 on penalties, twice in the 2019 quarter-finals in which Khuda Myaba’s lonely strike made the difference to send the Central Bankers to the semis, and in the controversial quarter-final first-leg in the 2023 season at Saturday’s venue in which Stain Davie’s goal in the dying minutes of the match triggered massive protest from Wanderers supporters to cause the abandonment of the match which the Nomads lost 4-0 (per the Football Association of Malawi article 10.6 of the competition’s Rules and Regulations) after they also boycotted the second-leg.
Now, months down the line, the two heavyweights meet again, and the winner will proceed to the semis of the competition. With this in mind, what can we expect from the two teams on Saturday under the floodlights?
Let’s preview this massive showdown
Silver Strikers
Peter Mponda’s side faced Dedza Dynamos in the quarter-finals. They won the first leg 4-1 before completing a double with a hard-fought 2-1 win to proceed to the semis with a comfortable 6-2 aggregate win.
On Saturday night, they will be facing Wanderers, a side seeking revenge for what happened in the 2023 edition in which they were eliminated in a controversial way, and looking at how the league standings are, the Nomads would want to proceed and win something as they are no longer the favourites to win the league after their two back-to-back defeats to Karonga United and FCB Nyasa Big Bullets last week.
Silver’s style of play
Under Mponda, Silver’s in-possession approach this season has been top-notch. The runaway league leaders have relied heavily on Chimwemwe Idana, Zebron Kalima, and Uchizi Vunga to attack from deep.
While there is still a reliance on counters, it is fair to say that Mponda has, on several occasions, attempted to evolve his side’s style of play somewhat.
Starting in a base of 4-4-2 or 4-3-3 shape, Silver’s buildup patterns have varied, but in recent matches, Mponda has settled on 4-3-3 by overloading his midfield and, moving Idana too close to the strikers.
In terms of building from the back, the Bankers emphasize more on structuring his side’s play from George Chikooka, who is certainly a capable ball player as he can find his centre and full-backs with precise passes in the buildup.
The sky-blue side of Lilongwe has prioritized playing in the midfield, where they have ball players in Idana, Kamanga, and Vunga, depending on the formation they use on a particular day.
Centre-backs step into the midfield to drag an opponent away, and this movement creates a passing lane in the middle of the park for Mponda’s men as Idana moves forward with pace and precision to combine with Vunga who always makes dangerous runs into the attacking zone of opposition’ penalty area to unlock the opponents’s defensive wall to pounce.
Winning second balls
The simplicity behind their dominance in the midfield has everything to do with Chikondi Kamanga. While he is limited technically, his combative presence has been useful in Mponda’s tactical setup.
His physicality has seen the midfielder winning important balls and taking full charge of the midfield. His influence in buildup is minimal, but his ability to battle opponents does partly explain why he is one of the players to have recorded the highest number of turnovers on the domestic scene.
In addition, his ability to make runs when in possession and ghost into space in and around the opponents’s area, is excellent, and this allows Idana and Vunga to be more offensive and aggressive in the final third.
How Wanderere could capitalise on Silver’s approach
When it comes to transition-based attacks, Meck Mwase’s charges have improved tremendously in the current campaign. They have Isaac Kaliyati and Gaddie Chirwa, who, when in possession, attack with pace and have the ability to unlock the opposition’s back four. Recent games against Baka City, Mzuzu City Hammers, and Civil Service United stand out in particular, as the pace of the duo caused these teams huge problems.
Against Mponda’s men, Wanderers’s opportunities could come in the moments where the Bankers lose possession of the ball, as their tendency to build up with just one midfielder can leave lots of central space for teams to transition into.
Mighty Mukuru Wanderers
The Nomads had to overcome a very stubborn Bangwe All Stars to advance to this stage. The first leg ended 1-0 in favour of the Lali Lubani boys, but Bangwe levelled the scoreline in the second leg to force the game to penalties, from which Wanderers won 4-2 to set a semifinal date against the Central Bankers.
Mwase, in contrast to Mponda, has based his tactics this season mainly on the 4-2-3-1. Up front, Thierry Tajong Samar will be the centre forward, acting as a target man with his ability to receive long balls and find passes to the wingers running behind his back or holding the ball and pass back to midfielders coming for support.
He is likely to make changes in his goalkeeping department as Richard Chipuwa is set to be trusted after he returned to the starting eleven against Chitipa United on Wednesday.
Against a team with so much possession during the games, Wanderers must have a specific plan on how to attack. Recovering the ball higher up the pitch with a fast forward pass could be one option, while the other one is to use Samar as the target man and the fast winger (Gaddie Chirwa) exploiting the spaces behind the back line.
The fast wingers for Wanderers may be the key for Mwase’s team to win the game. Against a team that likes to build up in three, there will be available spaces on the flanks for 1v1 situations and counter-attacks. Samar and Kaliyati excel in attacking 1v1 situations, but to have them both on the pitch, one of Blessings Singini, Felix Zulu, or Wisdom Mpinganjira would need to stay out with Zulu, which would be the possible option.
The transition to attack is probably the most appropriate time to hurt Silver Strikers. With centre-backs sitting on the half-line when the ball is in the final third, there will be lots of free space behind. A solution to take advantage of that would be to keep one or two players (Samar as a target man and one winger) on the half line to take advantage of that situation.
However, this will also be too risky as Wanderers will have to defend with eight players against a highly pressing side, but on the other hand, it will force Silver’s defenders to keep a deeper position and not get too involved in the attack.
How could Silver capitalise on Wanderers’s approach
If there is one thing Wanderers are struggling to deal with, it is their porous defence. Against Bullets in the Blantyre Derby, two quick mistakes allowed their rivals to score because there was no coordination between the midfield and the defenders.
The moment they lost possession, Bullets attacked with pace and caught their defenders’ pants down to score the two winning goals.
With Silver’s approach to every game, a well-crafted counter-attack would result in goals. At a big stage, Wanderers have failed to handle pressure, and if they approach the game casually, Silver Strikers would pounce on them.
The outcome of this semifinal showdown will depend on the ability of both teams to execute their tactical plans and capitalise on scoring opportunities, making it a fascinating clash to see who will proceed to the final.
