…Crerk and KB play to a goalless draw…
FCB Nyasa Big Bullets registered their first convincing win at Kamuzu Stadium this season when they hammered Mighty Tigers 3-0 to dislodge Mzuzu City Hammers in the third position of the TNM Super League.
Setting his eyes on the Airtel Top 8 Cup final this Saturday against Silver Strikers, Kalisto Pasuwa made nine changes to the side that beat Kamuzu Barracks 2-0 in the semis while Tigers maintained the side that drew 0-0 with Karonga United.
From the onset, Bullets made their intentions known with high-pressing football, and they should have been three-nil up in the first minutes as Maxwell Phodo, Lloyd Aaron, and Chawanangwa Gumbo all failed to score when the trio received brilliant passes from Ephraim Kondowe who was causing havoc to Tigers’s defence.
In the 4th minute, Salima delivered a cross from a corner kick, which met Gumbo. However, the midfielder was very unfortunate as his header missed Lucky Tizola’s left-hand post with an inch.
The visitors were pushing for an early goal, and they should have one in the 5th minute when Phodo’s powerful header hit the upright from Salima’s freekick.
As Bullets kept on wasting chances, Tigers almost punished them when Frank Chizuze beat the offside trap to release Grayson Msowoya, who was in a one-on-one situation with Clever Mkungula but he fired wide.
The day worsened for Bullets as Phodo was substituted for Lameck Gamphani in the 19th minute after he sustained an injury.
With 22nd minutes played, Mkungula came to Bullets’ rescue when he produced a fantastic save to deny Ben Manyozo from scoring. A corner kick that was conceded in the process was well-defended by Crispin Mapemba.
In the 31st minute, Bullets missed a golden opportunity to break the deadlock.
Salima delivered a pass into the box that found Gamphani at the far end. The winger saw his first attempt well blocked by Alex Kambilinya, and moments later, Aaron’s attempt was blocked by Steve Nkhoma, and from the rebound, Kondowe’s shot was well saved by Tizola.
Tizola, the Tigers goalie, was refusing to be beaten, and in the 40th minute, he produced yet another save to deny Salima from finding the back of the net.
However, he was beaten in the additional minutes of the match as Gumbo found Salima inside the penalty box, and the winger made no mistake to slot the ball past Tizola, giving Bullets a deserving lead before the recess.
After the interval, it only took five minutes for Bullets to create a scoring chance when Mapemba, Gamphani, Willard, and Kondowe exchanged passes to find Aaron on the edge of the penalty box, but the midfielder saw his effort missing the right-handed post with an inch.
Leo Mpulura brought in Precious Chipungu and Messiah Kachingwe for Msowoya and Wongani Kamanga in the 55th minute to try to improve the attacking prowess.
For Bullets, it was just a matter of managing the game while Tigers, even though they were struggling to keep possession in the final third, tried to push for a goal but posed no threat to Bullets as the visitors defended with everything to frustrate the hosts.
Pasuwa brought in Ernest Petro, Mologeni, and Ronald Chitiyo for Gumbo, Willard, and Mpokera in the 60th minute.
In the 67th minute, Mkungula was called to action when he produced a double save to deny Chizuze from scoring. Bullets’ back-four failed to deal with Kambilinya’s long ball into the box.
Kondowe was denied a chance to register his name on the scoresheet in the 69th minute when his powerful header from Petro’s cross hit the post.
Mpulura brought in Chizuze for Zikani Munthali in the 70th minute.
Bullets doubled their lead in the 72nd minute when Petro’s cross found Salima, whose first attempt was saved by Tizola before hitting the ball with power from the rebound, 0-2.
Pasuwa brought in Mathews Masamba and Precious Phiri for Salima and Kondowe in the 75th minute.
Bullets completed the riot in the 82nd minute through Chitiyo, who smartly tapped in the ball from Mologeni’s cross to make it 0-3.
Tigers pushed for at least a goal, but Bullets held on to record a convincing win to move back into the top three with 44 points from 25 games.
At Aubrey Dimba Stadium, Crerk Sporting Club and Kamuzu Barracks played out to a goalless draw. The result means Joseph Kamwendo’s charges are 7th in the table with 36 points from 25 games while KB sits in the 8th position with the same number of points, but they have played a game more than Crerk.
At Karonga Stadium, FOMO FC failed to move out of the relegation zone when they gave away a first-half lead to lose 2-1 to Baka City.
Hassan Hussein had given FOMO a 14th-minute lead, but Tambulani Mwale levelled before Augustine Msowoya’s goal to secure all the points for the already relegated side.
The defeat means the Mulanje-based side is still stuck in the bottom three with 22 points from 24 games, while Baka City anchors the table with 11 points from 26 games.
