FCB Nyasa Big Bullets’ TNM Super League title defence suffered a massive setback on Thursday afternoon when we lost 1-0 at home to the relegation-threatened Bangwe All Stars at Kamuzu Stadium.
It was the defending champions’ first league match since August 11, but instead of bouncing back from the last result in the competition, Bullets endured another frustrating afternoon. They conceded in the second half to register a second defeat at home and a third in the 2024 campaign.
What happened
Kalisto Pasuwa made two changes to the side that beat Civil Service United 2-0 in the Airtel Top 8 quarterfinal first-leg at the same venue on Saturday by handing starts to Maxwell Phodo for Ephraim Kondowe and Lloyd Aaron for Yankho Singo.
As early as the first minute, a cross from Gomezgani Chirwa caught the visitors off-guard as they conceded a corner kick, which they easily defended.
The hosts had their first serious attempt at goal in the 12th minute when Chawanangwa Gumbo fired at goal, but Ellias Missi denied the midfielder with a good save and from the rebound, the shot-stopper made amends to keep the scoreline at 0-0.
With 21 minutes played, Pasuwa’s charges had already played six corner kicks, which they failed to capitalise on as Trevor Kajawa’s side defended with confidence to frustrate the defending champions.
Our second shot at goal came in the 23rd minute when we launched a counter-attack through Frank Willard to Babatunde Adepoju, who released Lloyd Aaron to the left but the midfielder had his weaker shot easily stopped by Missi.
For the next few minutes, it was Bullets controlling possession, however, making an impact in the final third proved to be a huge task for The People’s Team.
The day got worse for us in the 40th minute when Precious Sambani was substituted for Precious Phiri after the left-back sustained an injury.
There was nothing much to write about in the remaining minutes of the opening half as Pasuwa’s men kept keeping the ball with no impact in attack.
After the recess, Pasuwa brought in Chikumbutso Salima for Stanley Billiat as he looked to increase the attacking prowess and possibly break the visitors’ high-line defence they deployed throughout the afternoon.
It was the same story for Bullets, passing and keeping the ball but failing to break the defensive line of the visiting team.
With 60 minutes played on the clock, Kajawa made two changes as Shukuran Goba and Richard Lapson replaced Christopher Jimu and James Tambwali while Pasuwa introduced Lameck Gamphani and Ronald Chitiyo for Gumbo and Phodo.
Despite these changes, there was not much from the 2023 quadruple-winners as they were still dominating play, but mostly in their half.
Bullets had two penalty appeals turned down by referee Kesten Mnenula before Babatunde thought he had broken the deadlock in the 69th minute, only for his goal to be ruled out for offside.
In the 71st minute, the visitors stunned the defending champions. Bullets lost possession in the offensive zone to Lapson, who wasted no time by releasing Clever Chikwata in the attacking zone and the forward had Clyde Senaji to outpace before slotting the ball past Richard Chimbamba, 0-1.
The more Bullets pushed, the more the visitors defended with everything to guard their slender lead. Pasuwa, in the 78th minute, brought in Ernest Petro for Aaron.
The remaining minutes saw Bullets having no serious attempt at goal, and even though six minutes were added on the clock, the defending champions couldn’t make a come-back.
What it means
Thursday’s result means Bangwe All Stars recorded their historic first win against the Malawi champions, and Bullets are still stuck in the 10th position with 24 points from 17 games.
What next
Our next assignment is another league game against Chitipa United at home on Sunday.
