Be Forward Wanderers began their title defence with a flying start as they came from a goal down to defeat Silver Strikers 2-1 at Silver Stadium.
A second half brace from Peter Wadabwa is what the Nomads needed to restore the lost glory at the Lali Lubani.
The two teams were meeting for the second time in just over a week, with Silver winning last week’s match in the Charity Shield but it wasn’t the same on Saturday as the Nomads stunned the home side.
The Bankers were the better side in the first half through Mphatso Phillimon, Timothy Chitedze and Damiano Kunje no wonder Nomads goalkeeper William Thole was called into action in the early minutes of the encounter.
Phillimon saw his header hitting the woodwork when Wanderers defence was caught napping in the line of duty.
However, the Bankers could not be denied in the 21st minute when Phillimon headed home from a close range to beat Thole in the line of duty, 1-0.
Moments later, the hosts launched another counter hurricane attack only to see Lucky Malata making a last minute interference to deny them from increasing their lead.
In the second half, Wanderers resurfaced, winning the midfield battle and they almost equalized when Esau Kanyenda’s tap in was cleared before crossing the line by Chisomo Mpachika.
The Nomads were attacking like angry vipers and their hard working spirit finally paid off in the 54th minute when Wadabwa scored a beauty just outside the penalty box to beat Brighton Munthali in goals for the Bankers, 1-1.
Moments later, it was 2-1. A low cross into the box found Wadabwa unmarked and he made no mistake by slotting past Munthali to send the whole stadium into a frenzy.
With less than 8 minutes to go, Ernest Tambe was given his second yellow card to reduce Wanderers’ numbers on the pitch.
The Bankers tried their level best to snatch something away from the game but the visitors stood firm to collect their first three points as they begin their title defence.
At Kasungu, newly promoted TN Stars were welcomed into the league with a 4-1 defeat at the hands of Blue Eagles.
Junior Malidadi scored the first brace of the season as the Area 30 side went top of the standings.
