FCB Nyasa Big Bullets registered their 10th draw of the season after playing out to a goalless draw against Mzuzu City Hammers at Mzuzu Stadium on Wednesday afternoon.
This was Bullets’ final match of the Northern Region after they beat Baka City 1-0 at Karonga Stadium last Sunday.
However, despite the draw, Bullets dislodged Civil Service United in the third position of the league table
What happened
The visitors started brightly as the first 15 minutes of the match saw them putting the hosts under intense pressure but there was no serious attempt at goal to break the deadlock.
Lungu made a brilliant pass to Babatunde Adepoju in the offensive zone but Chancy Mtete was very alert with a brilliant intervention.
With 20 minutes played on the clock, the dimension of the game completely changed as Akeem Abioye, Chinonso Promise and Bayo Fatayo caused more havoc to Bullets’ back-four due to their physical strength but Clyde Senaji’s led defence closed down spaces and won every duel to stop them from having a sight at goal.
The hosts had an opportunity in the 24th minute when Lungu fouled Isaac Msiska closer to Bullets’ penalty box but Abioye’s delivery was headed wide by Samuel Adeyemi for a goal kick.
In terms of creating chances, none of the two goalkeepers was seriously called into action as the midfield battle was the main highlight of the match.
Hammers suffered a blow in the 36th minute when Abioye sustained an injury when he was fighting for the ball with Babatunde who was cautioned in the process, taking his yellow cards to three and earning an automatic suspension of Sunday’s game against Mafco.
Yasin Rashid came in for the injured midfielder. However, there was nothing more to write for in the remaining minutes of the half as none of the teams registered a shot at goal in the entire 45 minutes.
After the recess, Petro was substituted for Chawanangwa Gumbo, perhaps a tactical change to regain the midfield which was mostly dominated by the hosts.
Unlike the first half, there was no life to the second half as both teams mostly used secondary balls and had no clear path for a passing game.
Too many stoppages to the game also spoiled the match as referee Waliko Simfukwe was just blowing his whistle anyhow to halt the play.
In the 52nd minute, Hammers introduced Chimwemwe Chunga for Adebeyi to operate from the right side of the field.
On a bumpy and dry pitch, it was clear that Bullets would struggle to play their usual game while the hosts were able to move from the back into the attacking area but they had no opportunity to shoot at goal.
Pasuwa made a double substitution in the 62nd minute when he brought in Phodo and Lameck Gamphani for Salima and Stanley Billiat.
The visitors almost scored in their first attempt at goal in the 71st minute when Gumbo released a thunderous shot outside the penalty box to force Mtete to make a serious save and from the rebound, Babatunde was completely offside.
With 13 minutes remaining on the clock, Gerald Ngwira came in for Hammers, replacing Msiska who was tightly marked by Mapemba.
In the 81st minute, Precious Sambani and Kenneth Pasuwa came in for Lungu and Babatunde.
Bullets had three back-to-back set pieces that yielded nothing as Mtete was in control of his penalty box to maintain the 0-0 scoreline.
However, The People’s Team should have had two goals within the space period of five minutes when Yankho Singo’s powerful shot missed Mtete’s left-hand post with an inch.
Moments later, the shot-stopper denied Gamphani a goal when he brilliantly saved a shot that was bound for the top-right corner and that was all for the match.
The result means Bullets moved third in the standings with 34 points, level with Civil Service United but Pasuwa’s men have a superior goal difference and a game in hand to play for.
At Balaka Stadium, giant-killing Bangwe All Stars maintained their unbeaten run against the top three teams when they frustrated Silver Strikers to a goalless draw.
Trevor Kajawa’s men are still in the bottom three with 19 points, three points adrift of safety while the Central Bankers are still topping the standings with 49 points. However, the gap between the log leaders and the second-placed Mighty Mukuru Wanderers was reduced to five points following the Nomads’s 1-0 hard-fought victory over FOMO FC at Kamuzu Stadium.
Wisdom Mpinganjira scored the winning goal in the 8th minute to seal the important points for Meck Mwase’s men who are piling more pressure on Peter Mponda’s men in the title race.
