FCB Nyasa Big Bullets youth started their African Herbal Mixture Cup with a 1-0 win over Lyzee United on Sunday afternoon at the Mpira Stadium.
Davie Manganyera scored five minutes before the halftime break and his effort proved to be the decider of the tie.
The narrow win on the official launch of the cup means that the defending champions now lead Group D with three points as Young Stars and Assima will play their first game next Sunday.
What happened
With a new designated technical panel, the defending champions were unchanged in their style of play and were off to a start they could have dreamed of.
Three minutes into the tie the junior Maule won a penalty after Manganyera was brought down in the box, being prevented from finishing off a sweeping team move.
It was a huge chance but Bullets Youth fluffed it as central midfielder Davie Symon saw his effort from the spot being denied by the right-hand-side upright.
Awakened by that colossal let-off, the visitors grew into the contest. They began to push up the pitch where Mervin Issah and Usumani Buleya relentlessly were always plotting a terror on the reigning champions.
For most of the opening half, it was pretty much a matter of attacking and getting attacked.
A defining moment of the tie would come five minutes before the halftime break. Dennis Mkundika, the visiting goalkeeper, mistimed when he had to leave the goal line and rush for an interception. Manganyera got to the ball first and, with the keeper beaten in the process, the attacker calmly guided the ball into the net to make it 1-0.
With a clear intent to level things up, Lyzee returned from the interval with well-composed play. Buleya and Issah pulled the strings to put the defending champions under a spell they had to endure a lot of pressure.
Thanks to the lack of a telling touch in the visitors, Bullets Youth maintained their lead and were able to launch a massive push for the second goal in the last ten minutes of the tie.
Martin Adam had been a marvel to watch throughout the match but luck was never on his side when he managed to round off the keeper but his last effort could only hit the post before the ball went into the hands of the keeper.
In stoppage time, Adam was presented with another chance and this time he hit the crossbar, a rejection that left the young prospect holding his head with his hands in disbelief.
There could have been more on the score-line but a narrow 1-0 was the final result in favour of Bullets U-19s.
Manganyera shines, voted MOTM
There were bright performances from Misheck Biliat and Maetin Adam but our number 10, Manganyera, put a real show of offensive play. It is not just the winning goal that has won him the Man of the Match award, but also the way he expressed himself with the ball throughout the entire match.
Fodya, Kayira, Mgwira off to a good start
The trio of Bullets legends recently joined the youth set-up with Yamikani Fodya succeeding Autry Kalulu as the head coach.
Although there was just a week to prepare for Saturday’s game, the new technical panel delivered the maximum points. A win is what everyone has to start the managerial with and our new coaches got one in their first game.
What the coach said after the game
“It was a difficult match given that it was just a week ago since we arrived at the training pitch. We did not know this team and from the team we found we had to see how these kids play. It was a difficult match and we didn’t expect to reach here.”
Next
Following their victory on the opening day, the defending champions will continue their Group D campaign when they will be in action again next weekend.
