One-time FDH Bank Cup champions Silver Strikers became a casualty of the competition, which is synonymous with dishing out upsets in excess amounts.
The Lilongwe-based giants, who are the current TNM Super League leaders, were bundled out of the cup by a Premier Division side, Blue Eagles FC on penalties.
*Penalties haunt Silver again*
The Central Bankers, despite winning the cup in its inaugural year in 2021, have been the victims of upsets in the past two seasons.
The area 47-based side failed to defend the cup they won in 2021 when they lost to Dedza Dynamos 5-4 on penalties. This was Dedza’s first season in top-flight football, and when they met the Central Bankers, they made sure to drag the game to penalties where they triumphed, ending Silver’s hopes of retaining the cup.
In the 2023 season, the area 47-based side exited the competition similarly to how they lost to Dedza, losing to Moyale Barracks in the Round of 16 on penalties again. The regulation time ended 1-1 before Mcdonald Harawa’s penalty save to deny Tatenda M’balaka from converting his spot-kick to dump them out of the competition.
This time around, penalties haunted them once again, losing 5-3 to Blue Eagles following Joshua Waka’s save to deny Innocent Shema from 12 yards out.
The latest shootout defeat for the Bankers means they have failed to win on penalties on six different occasions in all competitions, ranging from their 5-4 and 3-1 penalty loss to Bullets and Mafco FC in the Airtel Top 8 Cup, their 5-4 and 10-9 defeats to Dedza and Moyale in the FDH Bank Cup Round of 16 respectively, and their 4-2 loss to Bullets in the Castel Challenge Cup.
They also lost 7-6 to Bullets in the Charity Shield match played at Bingu National Stadium at the start of the 2024 season.
Speaking after the match, Peter Mponda said his side had a bad start to the match hence the defeat.
“Our play today wasn’t convincing as the performance of the first half was below expectations. Come the second half, we returned a changed side which played very well, we created chances but failed to convert them. The game went to penalties, we missed our penalty and lost the match. We will return and continue working on our game as we move on from this match,” he said.
*Lively Bullets dispatch Bangwe All Stars*
The most successful team in the competition, FCB Nyasa Big Bullets, who are the defending champions having won the cup twice in a row, have so far this season been very poor in front of goals in the Super League despite playing with intent and creating plenty of goal-scoring chances.
Their Round 32 tie against Bangwe All Stars came at a time when the 2023 quadruple-winning team is 13 points behind Silver in the title race with only three wins from eleven league games.
But on Sunday, they showed their would-be contenders why they are the defending champions of every competition in Malawi with a five-star performance to dispatch their opponents with a 5-0 hammering to advance to the Round 16 where a possible Blantyre Derby awaits.
A brace each from Patrick Mwaungulu and Chikumbutso Salima and a lone strike from Babatunde Adepoju summed up a successful day for the defending champions who dominated every phase of the game.
Speaking after the game, Kalisto Pasuwa said the win came at the right time when his boys needed motivation to believe that they could create and score goals.
“It’s a motivation to the team as we have been struggling to score goals by missing clear-cut chances but today, we came out good in the second half to score five goals. It’s a great motivation factor to everybody in the house that we can create and score goals no matter how difficult a situation may look.
“I am happy that the boys responded well to whatever has been happening in recent matches where they could do everything but no result,” he told the local press.
*Best of the rest*
Karonga United booked their place in the Round of 16 with a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Mzuzu City Hammers. A brace from Emmanuel Mwalilino was enough to secure the important win at the expense of Hammers who scored their consolation goal from the spot through. Wongani Zulu.
At Mzuzu Stadium, Moyale Barracks hammered Chintheche United 7-1 to secure a place in the next round of the competition.
Emmanuel Allan was the hero of the day as he became the first player this season in this competition to score four goals before extra strikes from Prince Phiri, Charles Nkhoma and Chifundo Damba.
This competition continues to ignite the dreams of many Malawian teams as everyone has a fair bite at this biggest club knockout contest.
There is no room for complacency in this competition, especially at this stage. Bullets Reserves once reached the final of the cup after eliminating three Super League teams namely Mighty Tigers, Red Lions and Blue Eagles FC.
In the 2022 season, Rumphi United eliminated Red Lions to reach the semis of the competition where they lost to Mzuzu City Hammers (formerly Ekwendeni Hammers) in the last four on penalties.
Another premier division side, Santhe Admarc, made it to the quarterfinals of the competition in the 2023 season.
Pictures courtesy of Bullets and Silver media
