Our journey in the Castel Challenge Cup continues on Tuesday afternoon as we host Mzuzu City Hammers in the semifinals at Kamuzu Stadium.
It was a gruelling week for Kalisto Pasuwa’s troops, who had two back-to-back fixtures against Hilltop United and MMF Marines away from home, winning both games to reach this stage.
The defending champions will look to a significant chapter in their title defence as they seek to take another step towards a second trophy this season by seeing off a side looking to book their first cup final since 2021.
FORM GUIDE
Bullets carry a crucial momentum to this game, having won back-to-back games away from home within four days.
Pasuwa’s men narrowly defeated Hilltop United 1-0 in the Round of 16 to advance to the last eight of the competition before registering a comfortable 3-1 win over MMF Marines to advance to their second successive Castel Challenge Cup semis since its launch last year.
This has stretched our unbeaten run across all competitions to 19 games, a streak that began in September with a convincing 4-2 win over Chitipa United in the TNM Super League.
Our opponents have charted a more dramatic journey to this stage of the competition, having also locked horns with one team from the lower league in Round 32, before facing two top-flight teams for the first time in the Round of 16 and the quarterfinals.
Hammers started their campaign in the Round of 32 because they were seeded. They faced Kameme United at Mzuzu Stadium, where they convincingly won 4-0 to advance to the last 16, where they eliminated Mighty Tigers with a hard-fought 1-0 win to reach the quarterfinals.
They faced Karonga United at Karonga Stadium where the normal time ended 0-0, and sailed through to the semis on penalties, beating the home side 3-1.
This has been their best season since they earned promotion into the top-flight league, finishing the campaign in fourth position and also reaching the semis of the Castel Challenge Cup.
A win for Bullets will see us becoming the first team in two seasons to reach every cup final after winning every trophy in the 2023 season.
As for Hammers, if they beat Bullets, they will reach their second cup final since the 2021 season in which they lost 2-0 to Silver Strikers in the FDH Bank Cup final at Bingu National Stadium.
HEAD-TO-HEAD
Spoils were shared when the two teams met in the league in October at Mzuzu Stadium.
In the last nine league meetings, Bullets have had seven wins and two draws. Hammers have never recorded any victory over The People’s Team regardless of where they meet.
The two teams have met once in a knockout competition. They met in the last eight of this cup last season at Kamuzu Stadium where Bullets showed the visitors no mercy with a 4-0 thumping to eliminate them from the competition.
TEAM NEWS
Alick Lungu will not be part of the match as he is still being assessed following an ankle injury he sustained during our 3-1 win over Marines.
Pasuwa will also be without midfielder Ronald Chitiyo, who has a knee problem. Frank Willard is out of this fixture due to suspension, having picked up a red card against the Marines on Saturday.
But the good news is that Yamikani Mologeni is available for selection after missing the last two games due to an injury.
KICK-OFF TIME AND HOW TO WATCH THE MATCH
Our midweek Castel Challenge Cup semifinal clash with Mzuzu City Hammers at the Kamuzu Stadium will kick off at 14h30.
You can catch all the action live on Mpira TV. You can also get all the match updates on our Facebook and X (Twitter) channels.
MATCH OFFICIALS
Referee: Godfrey Nkhakananga
Assistant Referee 1: Pondamali Tembo
Assistant Referee 2: Hendrix Maseko
Fourth Official: Mwayi Msungama
Match Commissioner: Tiziona Banda
