Nyasa Big Bullets vice-captain Chimwemwe Idana says the squad is primed for Saturday’s Airtel Top 8 final against Silver Strikers and the boys will do whatever it takes to give the ‘Palestinians’ an early Christmas gift.
The People’s Team host Daniel Kabwe’s side in the fourth edition of the Airtel Top 8 Cup final to be played at Kamuzu Stadium.
Idana, who has led Bullets almost this entire season in the absence of injured captain John Lanjesi, spoke to club media and said the boys, who realize the importance of winning another silverware on top of the TNM Super League, are so eager for the final showdown of the campaign.
“As players, we are like soldiers and ready for every war,” he said. “We know how important this match is to us and to the whole Bullets family, so we are ready for the clash and we are very optimistic that by the end of 90 minutes victory will be ours.”
Bullets triumphed twice against MAFCO FC in the first and second legs of the quarter-finals, before defeating rivals Mighty Wanderers in front of a packed Kamuzu Stadium a fortnight ago.
Idana acknowledged that playing in front of thousands of Palestinians, as Bullets supporters are known, will give the Kalisto Pasuwa boys an extra oomph to snatch the Airtel Top 8 Cup from the Area 47 side, which booted Bullets out of the 2021 FDH Bank Cup in the semis.
“We are playing at home and in front of our supporters and this will be an advantage to us. They support us throughout the game and that brings another dynamism to our game. Their voices in these kind of games matter more than anything, so we are happy to finally play a cup final at home and it’s now up to us as players to do whatever it takes to win the match and reward them with a trophy.”
Idana, who scored Bullets’ equalizer against Silver in the second-round of the TNM Super League at Kamuzu Stadium in July, before Precious Phiri’s late winner, was confident that the boys will give The People’s Team’s followers an early Christmas gift, saying it has been long since the Blantyre giants won a cup final.
“We are not promising a lot, but we are urging them to come in their large numbers for this important match. It’s a cup final and we need to win this for them. As players, we are geared for this and we have been failing to win a cup since 2017, this is the time to deliver an early Christmas gift to the Bullets family.”
Bullets last won in a cup final in 2017, beating Wanderers in the Carlsberg Cup at Bingu National Stadium in Lilongwe. This will be the second Airtel Top 8 Cup final appearance for The People’s Team in three years, losing to Blue Eagles in 2018.
It will also be the first time for the final of the Airtel Top 8 Cup to be played at Kamuzu Stadium ever since its launch in 2017.
