FCB Nyasa Big Bullets Reserves were held to a goalless draw by Mangochi United in their ninth ThumbsUp Southern Region Football League fixture played at the Mangochi Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
The result means our youngsters missed an opportunity to win Group B with a game to spare. They are now on 19 points and in second position with a point behind leaders Fomo FC.
What happened
The inability to inflict death on teams before they can smell it continued for the defending champions in their away assignment as they made a lame start to tie against the Group B strugglers Mangochi United who looked comfortable at home by firing shots after shots at our goal.
As the clock ticked towards the half-hour mark, it’s when our first shot on target arrived when Macray Chiwaya had a decent effort but the hosts goalie parried it away.
Wongani Kaponya then had a razor-sharp run with the ball down the byline but his cutback pass was cut short for a corner.
Chiwaya, the only forward player who looked lively in our lacklustre start to the game, had a go at goal again but the keeper was anticipating again.
As the first half closed, the hosts trudged down to the tunnel for the interval break a better side for they had been able to register eight attempts at goal compared to our two.
Restarting the tie, we looked an improved side but our resurgence could not last long as the hosts reclaimed their spell of authority.
Trying to shake things up, coach Enos Chatama introduced Osman Bakali who replaced Sladge Sanudi twelve minutes into the second half.
As minutes melted away, we were presented with two glorious chances, the young Bullets could not bury them.
Set through by captain Andrew Lameck, who was used as a defending midfielder on the day, Kaponya found himself with a keeper to beat but failed to pull the trigger.
Moments later, Gift Lamowa, who banged a brace last Thursday, got beautifully set by Chifundo Sapuwa but whacked the ball over the bar to waste what was a precious opportunity.
At the other end, the opponents still carried real threat as they continued creating more chances but just like us, they were utterly wasteful in front of goal.
In a tie we were far from our best, we were presented with a series of chances but a breakthrough was never coming.
In stoppage time, Kaponya was brought done in the box and when it seemed like a clear penalty the referee waved it away to the disappointment of the officials and fans. As a result of that dubious incident, the tie ended in a melee at the Mangochi Stadium before calm was restored soon enough.
What it means
The result was the third goalless draw our youngsters have recorded this season and on Sunday our youngsters missed an opportunity to win Group B with a game to spare.
Now on 19 points and in the second position, Bullets Reserves are a point behind Group B leaders Fomo FC.
Level on points with us is Ntaja United, who have played the same number of games as us but can’t match our superiority in goals scored.
Chatama post Mangochi United
“It was very disappointing, we played badly in the first half. In the second half, we became stronger, we created so many chances but we could not convert them into goals. It’s been disappointing recently we have not been banging goals. We have to go back and correct our mistakes for future games.”
Next
Following Sunday’s goalless draw against Mangochi United, FCB Nyasa Big Bullets Reserves will now focus on their final fixture of Group B’s first round when they welcome Ntaja United at Kamuzu Stadium next weekend.
