A brace each from Babatunde Adepoju and Ephraim Kondowe, with the other strike from Maxwell Phodo, inspired FCB Nyasa Big Bullets to a comfortable 5-0 victory over Changalume Barracks to book a place in the Castel Challenge Cup Round of 16.
The match was played at Mpira Stadium on Wednesday afternoon, and it had to be delayed for an hour due to the heavy rains that lasted for more than two hours.
Nevertheless, when referee Gift Chicco called the two teams to the field of play, Bullets went straight to business with yet another headline result to keep their hopes of adding another trophy to their cabinet alive after they successfully defended the Airtel Top 8 Cup before the international break.
What happened…
Babatunde Adepoju drew the first blood in the 6th minute when he connected well to head home from Ronald Chitiyo’s excellent delivery into the box, 1-0.
The People’s Team should have had two more goals after their opener, with both Maxwell Phodo and Chitiyo failing to convert their chances inside the penalty box.
Phodo was at it again as he missed a golden opportunity in the 24th minute. The forward was at the receiving end of a brilliant cross from Yamikani Mologeni and he only needed a simple touch to put the ball into the net, but Phodo went for power to drive his effort away from Changalume’s goal area.
These back-to-back missed chances almost punished Bullets when Emmanuel Sikelo Jnr forced Clever Mkungula into making a save when Clyde Senaji and Kesten Simbi failed to deal with a bouncing long ball. The shot-stopper came out top with an excellent save to keep his team in the lead.
In the 30th minute, Phodo thought he had scored, but his goal from the rebound after an earlier save from Francis Mkanda was ruled out for offside by the first assistant referee.
Changalume, coached by Chifundo Masapula, had a decent chance in the 34th minute when Blessings Mpokera failed to block a cross from Kaliwo Harawa that almost found Sikelo Jnr but the forward was late to arrive as the ball went to the other side of the field for a throw-in.
With five minutes to go before the half time, Phodo’s long-range effort almost doubled Bullets’s lead, but the striker was just very unfortunate as his attempt missed the upright with a small margin of centimetres to keep the game at 1-0 as the two teams went to the dressing room for a recess.
After the break, it only took a minute for Bullets to create a goal-scoring opportunity when Phodo made a brilliant work before Sporting Chitiyo on the edge of the six-yard box, but the attacking midfielder fired wide when the goal was open for him to slot the ball home.
For the next ten minutes, it was Bullets all over their opponents, but they lacked the finishing composure to punish the opponents who were sitting too deep to defend against a very high-pressing side
The cup tie was effectively over in the 57th minute as Bullets raced into a two-goal lead. Babatunde made an excellent run to the far right, beating Alick Theu before slotting the ball past defenceless Mkanda to make it 2-1
After the half-hour mark, Pasuwa brought in Ernest Petro, Kenneth Pasuwa, Wongani Lungu, and Ephraim Kondowe for Babatunde, Simbi, Chitiyo, and Gumbo.
The hosts were now running riot as Phodo scored their third goal when he received a million-dollar pass from Mologeni to smash the ball with power past Mkanda. Bullets made more than 14 passes in the run-up to the goal.
Bullets replaced Senaji for Mathews Masamba in the 74th minute. The defender seemed to have pulled his muscle when he tried to make a clearance inside the defensive box.
Despite this setback, Kondowe registered his name on the scoresheet with a clinical finish. It was once again a brilliant teamwork that saw Mologeni releasing Lungu before setting up Kondowe, who fired past Mkanda, 4-0.
Kondowe doubled his tally in the 87th minute when he was found unmarked by Petro, who won the ball from Watson Kondowe in his defensive area. The forward made no mistake to hit the back of the net with a clinical finish, 5-0.
The result means Bullets will travel to Mzuzu, where they will be hosted by Hilltop United in the Round of 16 at Mzuzu Stadium.
