After nearly a decade, FCB Nyasa Big Bullets will finish the TNM Super League campaign in a third position after they came from behind to beat Karonga United 3-1 at Kamuzu Stadium, a result that won’t change anything as Mighty Mukuru Wanderers drew 1-1 away to Creck Sporting Club to seal the second position with a game to play.
The People’s Team approached the game casually as they wasted plenty of goal-scoring chances before making amends with a comfortable win.
Even if Wanderers lose on Saturday, a win for Pasuwa’s charges over Kamuzu Barracks on the same day will not guarantee them the second slot due to their inferior goal difference with the Nomads.
However, it was sweet revenge for Bullets, who lost. 2-1 in the reverse fixture at Karonga Stadium in July.
From the onset, the hosts were all over the place, taking the game to the visitors who were defending in numbers to avoid conceding an early goal.
The first chance of the match came in the 6th minute when Babatunde Adepoju did brilliant work by beating William Mwalwimba and Nangie Songa before setting up Wongani Lungu inside the penalty box, but the midfielder blasted his effort over the crossbar.
Moments later, Babatunde had a chance to break the deadlock when Chikumbutso Salima found him unmarked, only to see his shot well saved by McLean Mwale, who was in control of everything thrown at him.
Bullets would later regret the missed chances when Karonga took a surprise lead in unbelievable circumstances.
As usual, Pasuwa’s men were in control of possession, passing the ball at will until Nickson Nyasulu decided to pass the ball to his goalkeeper Innocent Nyasulu.
However, the back pass was very poor as it caught the shot-stopper off-guard before rolling into the net, giving the visitors an undeserved lead, 0-1.
This goal was a motivation for the visitors and, at the same time, a setback to Bullets who, in all fairness, should have had more than three goals in the opening minutes.
With 20 minutes played, referee Cedrick Mwachumu awarded Bullets a penalty following a foul on Chikumbutso Salima by Robert Luhanga.
Babatunde stepped up and missed his spot-kick, his second penalty miss in the 2024 league campaign.
Half-hour mark on the clock, another goal-scoring chance fell to Phodo, who was very casual in approach by easily gifting the ball to Mwale.
The forward was once again denied by the shot-stopper in the 40h minute when his shot was well saved by Mwale to concede a corner kick, which caused commotion to Karonga before being wasted by Yamikani Mologeni.
The hosts were frustrated by their wastefulness in the final third. As for Karonga, it was an opportunity to catch bullets on the counter, and they nearly pounced on Pasuwa’s men in the 42nd minute when Blessings Mwalilino got the better of Blessings Mpokera and Gomezgani Chirwa, before firing straight at Nyasulu.
The scoreline was level in the second minute of the additional minutes when Salima released Babatunde to the left, and the forward sprinted towards the goal before setting up the advanced Chirwa who made a simple tap-in, 1-1.
The visitors suffered a blow in the additional minutes when Ellie Kayombo was stretched off after sustaining an injury, and he was replaced by Allen Chihana.
There was momentum for Bullets in the final seconds of the added minutes, and they nearly scored their second goal through Lloyd Aaron, who released a thunderous shot that missed Mwale’s left-hand side with an inch, marking the end of a one-sided first half that was mostly dominated by the home side.
After the recess, Pasuwa brought in Kenneth Pasuwa, Ephraim Kondowe, and Stanley Billiat for Phodo, Nickson Nyasulu, and Chawanangwa Gumbo, while Victor Chirambo and Saulos Moyo came in for Luhanga and Alfred Chizinga for the visitors.
The first opportunity in the final half fell favourably at Kondowe, who was found unmarked in a shooting position by Billiat, but the forward’s shooting technique let him down as he blasted his effort over the crossbar.
The hosts were pressing, and they should have a lead in the 51st minute when Babatunde, who was causing more havoc to the visitor’s penalty area, made a brilliant run and unleashed a powerful shot that was once again well saved by Mwale, who was keeping his team in the lead.
And moments after this opportunity, Kondowe missed a seater when Babatunde’s pass found him unmarked inside the six-yard box. The forward calmly controlled the ball before shooting at the goal, but surprisingly, the ball hit Songa before deflecting out for a corner kick.
It was from that set piece that resulted in Bullets’s second goal. Pasuwa delivered a brilliant cross that was headed into goal by Kondowe, redeeming himself from his earlier miss, 2-1.
After the hour mark, Colin Mujuru, who has been absent for the better part of this season, replaced Mpokera, who suffered a concussion in an aerial combat.
As Mujuru was yet to settle down, he had to join the rest of the players in celebrating Billiat’s goal outside the penalty box to make it 3-1 in the 60th minute.
The hosts were still pressing for more, and they should have had another goal in the 65th minute through Lungu, who did excellent work by running into the box before firing at goal, but his attempt was well-saved by Mwale.
Pasuwa brought in Frank Willard for Salima in the 66th minute, perhaps resting him for another battle ahead against KB on Saturday.
73 minutes played on the clock, Kondowe failed to double his tally when he was found unmarked by Billiat. The striker, who found himself in a one-on-one situation with Mwale, easily gifted the ball to the shot-stopper, leaving Pasuwa in denial as it was very easy to score than to miss.
With nine minutes left to play, Ernest Chisamba replaced Caston Kayuni for the Northern Region-based side.
Babatunde continued his search for a goal and nearly got one in the 89th minute, but his shot went wide.
Seven minutes of added time almost resulted in another goal for Bullets when Billiat created a shooting space for himself only to be denied by Mwale, who, despite conceding three goals, saved his team from conceding a lot and in the end, 3-1 it ended.
The win sees Bullets sealing the third position with 52 points ahead of their final game against KB on Saturday.
As for Karonga, the defeat leaves them in the sixth position with 41 points, and for them to completely seal their top-eight finish, they have to beat FOMO FC at Mulanje Park on Saturday.
Crerk Sporting, Moyale Barrack, Mafco FC, and Kamuzu Barracks are all eyeing a slot in the top eight.
At Mulanje Park, the newly crowned Super League champions Silver Strikers saw their ambitions of completing the season unbeaten shuttered by Prince Kajore’s strike in the 85th minute to hand FOMO an important 1-0 win over the Central Bankers in their quest for survival.
The result saw the Mulanje-based side moving out of the relegation zone with 28 points and a win over Karonga United on Saturday is all they want to secure their place in the next season’s top-flight football.
The victory has seen Bangwe All Stars dropping into the relegation zone, and for them to survive, they have to beat Crerk and, at the same time, hope for FOMO’s defeat at the hands of Karonga.
At Aubrey Dimba, Frank Phiri’s strike from the spot cancelled out a first-half goal from Misheck Botoman as Crerk and Wanderers played out to a 1-all draw.
The result means Wanderers have all but secured the second slot, finishing above Bullets for the first time since the 2017 season in which they won the championship.
As for Crerk, they have to beat Bangwe to seal a place in the top eight ahead of next season’s Airtel Top 8 competition.
At Karonga Stadium, Chitipa United kept their slim hopes of survival when they comfortably beat Moyale Barracks 2-0 through a strike each from Trouble Kajani and Francis Nyirenda.
Mathematically, they are still in contention to survive relegation, but that will depend on FOMO FC and Bangwe All Stars results on the final day of the season.
Chitipa, who finished in fourth position last year, is stuck in 15th position with 26 points from 29 games.
