The prestigious 2021 FDH Bank Knockout Cup final at Bingu National Stadium on Friday afternoon will prove a historic contest for Silver Strikers and Ekwendeni Hammers who will both fight for the chance to lift the trophy in its inaugural season.
For the Central Bankers, drawn as the home side, it is a chance to lift the trophy after missing out on a league championship to Nyasa Big Bullets in a season where they were poised for success only to be leapfrogged by the Blantyre giants.
The Area 47-based side have had a very successful run at BNS in cup finals.
In 2017 and 2019, the Bankers won the Airtel Top 8 Cup at the facility, becoming the only side to win the competition twice within three years.
Similar to the current campaign, Silver Strikers won the 2017 Cup in its inaugural year.
In the beginning of the ongoing season, the Area 47 outfit with head coach Daniel Kabwe invested heavily in new talent which saw massive exodus of several players as they started a rebuilding exercise.
They nearly succeeded in winning the league but they bottled it out in the second round when they lost the top position to Bullets.
But they never gave up. They gave it all in the FDH Cup competition in which, before making it to the final, they had to beat heavyweights including Bullets and Wanderers.
Without any doubt, they are the favorites to grab the Cup.
ROAD TO THE FINALS
Round of 32
-Immigration FC 1-2 Silver Strikers FC (Chimwemwe Ibrahim- Chinsisi Maonga, Maxwell Gasten)
Round of 16
-Silver Strikers 2-0 Moyale Barracks (Frank Banda, Duncain Nyoni)
Quarterfinals
-Silver Strikers 2-2 Nyasa Big Bullets
*Stain Davie x2
*Hassan Kajoke, Zicco Mkanda
-Silver Strikers won 4-2 through penalties
Semifinals
-Silver Strikers 3-0 Be Forward Wanderers (Patrick Macheso, Blessings Tembo, Mark Fodya)
They are the highest scoring team in the competition with 13 goals and have only conceded five goals (two of which came through penalties).
The Bankers faced tougher opponents from the word go but they endured and they will be hoping to finish the job from where they stopped.
However, they will be facing a very unpredictable side which has proved that anything is possible in football.
Though others might say Ekwendeni Hammers had a smooth run in the competition, beating four teams before reaching the finals wasn’t a mean achievement.
Being their first season, some people never saw Ekwendeni Hammers reaching the finals and no matter the outcome on Friday, what is certain is that history will be made by the Northern Region outfit.
This is a chance to lift their first piece of silverware in their maiden season in the top-flight of Malawian football after earning promotion from Northern Region Football League last year.
Hammers were the team to watch in the first round of the league only to suffer a setback in a season which was dogged by unexpected breaks due to Covid-19 pandemic.
Despite this, Ekwendeni Hammers navigated their way to their first-ever final, where their squad filled with undoubted talent will be aiming to make cause upset under wily Edson Kadenge Mwafulirwa.
ROAD TO THE FINAL
Round of 32
-Ekwendeni Hammers 2-1 Airborne Rangers
(Joseph Mbewe, Chawanangwa Gumbo)
Round of 16
-Ekwendeni Hammers 2-0 Ntopwa FC
(Mustafa Maulana, Edgar Mgagana)
Quarterfinals
-Ekwendeni Hammers 1-0 Be Forward Wanderers Reserve
(Harry Nyirenda)
Semifinals
-Ekwendeni Hammers 0-0 Rumphi united (Ekwendeni Hammers 3-2 won through penalties).
They scored eight goals from the round of 32 to the semifinals and conceded three goals.
HEAD TO HEAD
Being Ekwendeni Hammers’ first season in the top flight football, they have only played Silver Strikers twice (in the league competition).
The two teams shared three point each, with Hammers winning the first-round match 1-0 at Mzuzu Stadium before being beaten by the Bankers 2-0 in the reverse fixture at Nankhaka Stadium last week.
This will be the first ever meeting between the two sides in a cup competition.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Silver Strikers
- Stain Davie
While Maxwell Gasten has struggled to re-find his goal-scoring form since taking the league by storm in the first round where he scored 12 goals, Stain Davie has stepped up.
The former TN Stars forward has finished his season with 12 goals and was on the scoresheet twice for Silver Strikers when they defeated Bullets in the quarterfinals of the Cup.
He is likely to be a threat to Hammers with his ability to score using both his legs and his head.
- Blessings Tembo
The veteran midfielder has brought stability to the Bankers’ midfield ever since he re-joined the club from Civil Sporting Club in the winter transfer window.
His ability to take down opposite defenders has seen teams struggle to cope with his pace and has been vital for the likes of Gasten, Frank Banda and Davie to find back of the net in the ongoing season with his precision passes. If given a room, Ekwendeni Hammers will be in for more trouble.
Ekwendeni Hammers
- Sammy Phiri
Though not a regular scorer, the enterprising forward has proved to be one of the key players for the Northern Region outfit. His pace, precision and ability to take on defenders has caused more problems to opposite teams especially in the league where at some point of time, they were the favorites for a top four finish.
His impressive partnership with Chawanangwa Gumbo will play a vital role in this final match and the duo will be aiming for a similar match-winning performance on Friday.
- Harry Nyirenda
The veteran defender has hit a rich vein of form ever since joining the team after being released by Wanderers at the end of the 2019 season.
He has brought experience to the team with his leadership skills and his only goal against Wanderers Reserve was enough to secure a place in the semifinals of the competition.
He will surely be needed to guide the youngsters since this will not be his first Cup final.
Bingu National Stadium is where everything will be finished. It’s a place where one of the two will walk out smiling with MK25 million in the pockets. Will it be Silver Strikers or they will be hammered by Ekwendeni? The battle field is ready for the war.
