The 2024 Airtel Top 8 Cup culminates in a potentially exhilarating final this afternoon as defending champions, FCB Nyasa Big Bullets will face Silver Strikers in a repeat of the 2021 final at Bingu National Stadium.
This final promises to be an entertaining and enterprising encounter, with the finalists’ technical teams taking pride in being possession-based.
For instance, both teams believe in keeping the ball for longer periods of the game, thus playing on the front foot.
As such, owing to similarities in playing philosophies, the team with better-pressing schemes stands a better chance of clinching the title.
In previewing the possible outcome ahead of the match, analysis done on domestic matches was the key factor since both teams have been doing well in the league as well as other competitions.
Let’s preview the final:
Both teams overcame quality opponents to earn a shot at the title.
Bullets overpowered Civil Service United to win 2-0 in the two-legged affair before dismantling Kamuzu Barracks 2-0 in the semifinals.
For the Central Bankers, the route to the final has been as treacherous, as they had to go past Dedza Dynamos 4-1 before completing the riot with a fantastic 2-1 win to progress to the last four with a 6-2 goal aggregate.
In the semifinals, they swept aside Mighty Mukuru Wanderers 1-0 to set up a showdown with the People’s Team.
FCB Nyasa Big Bullets
By playing at Bingu, in front of thousands of their fans, many would expect this to be one of those games that, on paper, should be a walk in the park for the Blantyre giants. But as we know, football isn’t played on paper, it’s played on the pitch.
Despite being the dominant team in Malawian football for some time now, the People’s Team has struggled for points in the TNM Super League this season as they have seen their title hopes shuttered in the blink of an eye.
They are ten points behind Saturday’s opposition in the title race. To make matters worse, they also lost the FDH Bank Cup to Blue Eagles, losing 3-2 on penalties.
This will be an important match for Kalisto Pasuwa’s men to revamp their season by at least grabbing a cup before the end of the current campaign.
Ever since the Airtel Top 8 was launched in 2017, Bullets have played 21 games. Their first match was against Saturday’s opponents in the quarterfinal stage of the competition in 2017 when they lost 1-0 in the two-legged affair.
In 2018, Bullets defeated Moyale Barracks 1-0 in the two-legged quarterfinal matches before eliminating Wanderers 2-1 to progress to the semifinals before losing 1-0 to Blue Eagles courtesy of a last penalty kick from Gilbert Chirwa, a game which resulted in fan violence and Bullets were eventually banned from competing in the next edition of the competition.
In 2021, Bullets smashed Mafco FC, Wanderers to reach the final, which they eventually won by beating the Central Bankers 5-4 on penalties.
In the 2022 season, they hammered Karonga United 8-1 in the two-legged quarterfinal games. In the semis, they eliminated Silver with a comfortable 3-1 win at Kamuzu Stadium, but they lost 5-4 to Wanderers on penalties.
In the 2023 edition, they eliminated Civil Service United with a hard-fought 3-2 aggregate win in the quarter-finals.
In the semis, they faced Blue Eagles. The match ended 3-2 in favour of Pasuwa’s men, who proceeded to the finals.
In the final match, they hosted Mafco FC in Blantyre, beating them 2-1 to complete their first historical quadruple.
In the current edition, they defeated Civil 2-0 in the two-legged quarterfinal matches before eliminating Kamuzu Barracks with the same margin to set up this massive showdown.
Silver Strikers FC
They won the cup in the 2017 and 2019 seasons.
In 2017, they beat Wanderers 10-9 on penalties, but they failed to defend the cup in the 2018 season.
In 2019, they won the competition again, beating Karonga United 1-0 at this afternoon’s venue.
Their Airtel Top 8 Cup successes all came at Bingu National Stadium.
Ever since its launch in 2017, the Central Bankers have played 25 games in this competition, winning it twice in their three final appearances.
They were finalists in 2017, 2019, 2021, and the current campaign.
To reach this stage, they hammered Dedza Dynamos 6-2 in the two-legged quarterfinal games before beating Wanderers 1-0 in the semis to advance to their fourth final appearance in the competition.
They are the highest-scoring team with seven goals, but they have conceded two.
Head-to-Head
It’s the second Airtel Top 8 Cup final meeting between the two teams, but the fifth overall meeting in this competition since its launch in 2017.
The first meeting between the two teams took place in the competition’s inaugural year in 2017. They met in the quarter-finals, in which Silver won the first leg 1-0 before forcing Bullets to a goalless draw to progress to the semifinals.
The third meeting was in the 2021 season. It was the cup final played at Kamuzu Stadium.
The People’s Team won the match, beating the Central Bankers 5-4 on penalties after the normal time ended 1-1.
In the 2022 edition, the two teams met again at Kamuzu Stadium. It was a semifinal match where the winner was bound to face Wanderers. Bullets showed them no mercy by beating them 3-1 to advance to the cup final, which they eventually lost to the Nomads on penalties. The game ended 5-4.
This is Bullets’ fourth consecutive final appearance in this competition, but overall, the fifth time to play in the final.
On the other hand, the area 47-based side has appeared three times in the final. They were the first team to win the cup in the inaugural year in 2017. They beat Wanderers 10-9 on penalties.
The Bankers also won the cup in 2019 after they defeated Karonga United 1-0. But in the 2021 season, they lost 5-4 to Bullets.
