Blue Eagles produced one of their best performances this season when they hammered Silver Strikers 4-0 at Civo Stadium on Saturday afternoon to reach the final of the FISD Challenge Cup for the first time.
The Area 30-based side wasted no time when they opened the routing in the first minute courtesy of a brilliant strike from the former Silver Strikers defender Wonder Jeremani, 1-0.
It was 2-0 on 29th minute when brilliant exchange of passes from Eagles caught Silver’s defense napping in the line of duty and ended up creating some space for Gilbert Chirwa to slot in from the close range.
Just two minutes after the recess, the Area 47 Bankers found themselves 3-0 down courtesy of another intelligent goal from John Malidadi Jnr.
The Bankers did have chances after that, but the Police-owned side made no mistake at the back to frustrate the sky blue side of the town.
Things got worse for the 2018 runners-up when Schumaker Kuwali scored Eagles’ 4th goal.
Referee Mayamiko Kanjere then gave Khuda Muyaba a straight red card when he got himself into squabbles with John Soko.
The decision to only dismiss Muyaba irked the visiting fans, resulting into more unsavoury incidents as the crowd pelted stones onto the pitch with objects, forcing the match to stop for close to 20 minutes.
When play resumed, Eagles were able to comfortably hold on for the win but violence erupted again in the last four minutes of the match, leaving Kanjere with no choice but to blow the whistle to mark the end of the match.
Blue Eagles will now face the winner of Sunday’s clash between Hangover United and Kamuzu Barracks at Mpira Stadium in Blantyre.
As for Silver Strikers, their wait for FISD Challenge Cup is far from over.
This year’s winner will walk away with a trophy and a K20 million in prize money. Ever since its inception, only two teams Be Forward Wanderers and Kamuzu Barracks have won the competition.
