It’s a new month and a new week which promises to be a very busy period for Nyasa Big Bullets. Here is a brief guide to how the new week looks like to all our sides.
Men’s main team
Straight from their first league defeat this season after 25-games, the first team returns to Kamuzu Stadium to start their Airtel Top 8 Cup title defence with a first-leg quarterfinal match against Karonga United on Saturday afternoon.
The 2022 Airtel Top 8 opening match presents a chance for Bullets, who now only need five points to be officially crowned the TNM Super League champions, to prove that what happened last Sunday was but a slip-up.
This fixture will be the first out of the three remaining encounters against the Northern Region-based side this season.
After the Airtel Top 8 second-leg tie in Karonga at the end of this month, the two will also return to Kamuzu Stadium for a TNM Super League match towards the end of the current campaign.
With a hostile atmosphere in Karonga, the only way for Bullets to take one step into the semis is by doing most of the work against their opponents at home before travelling up north for the return leg.
This is before Pasuwa’s side will travel to Mpira Village to play Mighty Tigers in the Super League. A win over the Kanjedza-based outfit will surely take Bullets closer to their fourth straight league title.
Reserves
After securing their qualification into the quarterfinal stage of the Nyasa Capital Finance Cup last Wednesday with a 3-1 win over Steffords FC at Mpira Stadium, our reserves will switch their attention to the ThumbsUp Southern Region Football League when they host Ntaja United at Kamuzu Stadium this Wednesday, 2nd November.
Enos Chatama’s side is the only team in Group 2 with more games left to play due to their lengthy inactive period following their contributions to the Malawi Under-20 National Team squad that travelled to eSwatini for the Cosafa Youth Championship.
Should they win three of their remaining matches, Bullets Reserves will finish top of their group heading into the knockout stages of the competition.
Young Bullets currently have 40 points from 16 games, second in the standings and one point behind MDF Marine and two points clear of Ntaja United.
A win on Wednesday will surely serve as good revenge on the visitors who won the first-round match
1-0 at their backyard in Machinga.
Youth
Our youth team will be in action against Agumbala FC at Mpira Stadium in the semifinals of the First Capital Bank U-20 League on Thursday.
The Autley Kalulu youngsters reached this stage with an emphatic 10-3 aggregate win over Yizo Yizo Warriors last week. The Maule kids thrashed the Mbayani outfit 5-2 in the first leg before mercilessly completing the mission two days later with a 5-1 victory to sail through to the last four.
Bullets Youth will strive to go all the way to the final and put themselves in a good position to register their first major silverware after they missed out on the title last season.
Women
Out of all our teams, the Nyasa Big Bullets Women’s team is the only side at ease this week. They are yet to resume the second round of the FAM Women’s Football League almost a month after they completed the first-round matches. Currently, they remain unbeaten at the top of the league.
Expectations
Starting their Airtel Top 8 title defense against Karonga United at home, of which they remain undefeated in all competitions this season, Bullets’ first team has the odds on their side on Saturday.
For the reserves, their fixture on Wednesday is a bit tricky considering the fierce contest Njaja has presented them in their previous two matches. Nonetheless, the tie being at home, Chatama’s boys will look to take full advantage of that.
After their impressive quarter-final results, Nyasa Big Bullets Youth are favourites against Agumbala, but they will have to put enough work into their performance to back the odds. Should all our three sides produce favourable results, it will prove to be a perfect week for The People’s Team.
