FCB Nyasa Big Bullets returned to winning ways with a resounding 5-0 thumping of Bangwe All Stars to advance to the Round of 16 of the FDH Bank Cup at Kamuzu Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
It was a match that the defending champions needed to win to redeem themselves from the rough patch following our unimpressive start to the season.
Kalisto Pasuwa’s men had to do it in style as they ran riot to score five past Bangwe with second-half goals from Patrick Mwaungulu, Chikumbutso Salima and Babatunde Adepoju.
What happened
Pasuwa handed Chikumbutso Salima and Maxwell Phodo their first starts to his team after a lengthy absence due to injuries.
Salima should have opened the scoring in the seventh minute when he received a pass from goalkeeper Innocent Nyasulu, but he saw his weaker shot easily stopped by Precious Mlotiwa.
Captain Precious Sambani came close in the 15th minute when his header hit the post from Patrick Mwaungulu’s well-taken corner kick and from the rebound, Salima had his effort off target.
The game was opening up for the holders, and next to miss a golden opportunity was Chawanangwa Gumbo. The midfielder was found unmarked in the box, but he failed to put the ball into the back of the net when his header missed Mlotiwa’s upright with an inch.
Bullets kept on knocking, but twice, Mwaungulu lost possession in the final third when passing to Phodo was the easiest decision to make.
Phodo thought he had finally broken the deadlock in the 27th minute only to be denied by the second assistant referee’s flag for offside.
As we continued looking for a breakthrough, we opened up at the back, and that nearly cost us in the 41st minute when Nyasulu gave away the ball so cheaply to Aubrey Maloya, who spotted the goalkeeper off his line. The winger wasted no time firing at goal only to be denied by the post, and from the rebound, our ‘keeper made amends with a timely intervention to keep the game at 0-0.
Our last chance of the opening period came inside the additional minutes when Mwaungulu’s freekick found Salima unmarked. However, the winger, who spent last season on loan at Bangwe, headed over the crossbar from close range, and that was all for the half.
After the recess, Pasuwa brought in Babatunde Adepoju and Blessings Mpokera for Kesten Simbi and Phodo.
It only took seven minutes for the visitors to finally make a breakthrough. Substitute Sunganani Geoffrey, who was introduced alongside Friday Osagie for Bangwe, failed to tame the pace of Salima and the winger advanced into the box to find Mwaungulu who made a simple tap-in, beating the defenceless Mlotiwa, 0-1.
The goal was a wake-up call to Rodgers Yasin’s men, who, for the first time in the match, attacked with intent and they nearly levelled in the 55th minute when Beston Jimu fired wide after our backline was caught off-guard on a counter.
At this moment, it was a balanced affair. However, Bullets looked more dangerous in attack than their opponents who were struggling to break our midfield where Lloyd Aaron was dictating play for the defending champions.
We doubled our lead in the 68th minute when our first scorer turned into a provider as he set Salima, who also made a simple tap-in, similar to our first goal. Mwaungulu made his way into the box before spotting Salima, who needed a simple touch to beat Mlotiwa with an easy finish, 0-2.
Yasin brought in James Tambwali and James Msowoya for Shukulani Goba and Kumbukani Manto.
Bullets continued dominating and nearly grabbed a third but Babatunde’s goal-bound effort was blocked for a corner, which the hosts defended.
Pasuwa made three more changes in the 74th minute when he introduced Ernest Petro, Crispin Mapemba and Mathews Masamba for Gumbo, Precious Sambani and Lanjesi Nkhoma.
At 77 minutes, Salima made another excellent run before finding the unmarked Babatunde in the penalty area, unfortunately, the forward had his effort stopped by Mlotiwa.
The People’s Team continued asking and scored three goals in the last ten minutes of the match to humiliate Ma Stars.
The massacre started at 83 minutes when Mapemba and Babatunde combined well to release Salima, who was at the receiving end of a masterclass pass before slotting the ball into an empty net, 3-0.
Four minutes later, it was 4-0. Mwaungulu was again the architect when his pass found Babatunde unmarked inside the area and the Nigerian had the easy task of ending his goal drought with another well-worked finish.
At the stroke of 90 minutes, Mwaungulu completed Bangwe’s thumping when he fired a rocket to beat Mlotiwa. 5-0 it ended in favour of the 2023 quadruple winners, who are eyeing a third successive FDH Bank Cup.
What it means
The win takes the defending champions into the Last 16 of the competition and will face either Cobbe Barracks or Mighty Mukuru Wanderers, who are meeting on Monday at Balaka Stadium.
What next
Bullets will switch focus back to the TNM Super League as we welcome Civil Service United at Kamuzu Stadium next Sunday.
