FCB Nyasa Big Bullets left it late to seal a 1-0 victory over Mighty Waka Waka Tigers in the TNM Super League at Kamuzu Stadium on Thursday afternoon.
Yamikani Fodya was the hero of the day with his successful effort from the spot in the dying minutes of what was a tightly contested match.
Today’s win proved to be so vital as we looked for all the points to go back on top of the standings with 40 points now.
What happened
The visitors were pinned in their own half from the start of the tie as they were made to always run for the ball in Maule’s push for a goal inside the opening 10 minutes.
Despite our early dominance in possession, Bullets were unable to make in-roads in breaking through the well drilled Tigers as we went on to register a single short on target for half an hour.
A good run in form has followed for Tigers ever since they parted ways with their former head coach Trevor Kajawa, who is also now having good results with his new side Karonga United.
And as the game unfolded Kau Kau began to show why they were coming into Thursday’s game off the back of three straight wins.
From sitting back in their own half, they pushed up the pitch and started to apply pressure on us and in so doing registering a number of dangerous attempts at goal that we were lucky to go for the half time break with the score line at 0-0.
The affair did not really change in terms of its tempo and balance after the restart as both sides lacked a telling moment in their attacks.
Our real serious attempt at goal came seven minutes into the second half when Patrick Mwaungulu unleashed a fierce strike from the arc of the 18 yard box but the Malawi international goalie Innocent Nyasulu put a strong pair of hands to it and let the danger pass.
A few minutes after that Tigers replied with a good counter which ended up with Precious Chipungu firing a rocket and Rabson Chiyenda flying himself to tip it over the bar.
On the other end, we counter attacked and Frank Willard produced another strong shot on target to force Nyasulu into another labour save.
With things not working out, coach Kalisto Pasuwa then made a double change in his first substitution window, replacing Hassan Kajoke and Lanjesi Nkhoma with Antony Mfune and Ephraim Kondowe as the clock struck an hour mark.
Five minutes after introduction Mfune had an opportunity to make a breakthrough but his shot inside the penalty box went over the bar.
With eleven minutes left on the clock, the visitors hit the post. It was proving to be a finish to the tie packed with end to end action as on the northern goal, Mwaungulu wasted a glorious chance just before another golden opportunity was created by Erick Kaonga but again was dashed away as the ball went across goal begging to be turned in.
And as it increasingly looked like we were headed for a barren tie, the defining moment arrived as we won a penalty kick late in the 88th minute following the handling of the ball by a Tigers defender in the box.
With all the pressure in the world and hopes of thousands of fans on him, veteran Fodya , who was also wearing the captain’s armband on the afternoon, stepped up and calmly scored from the spot to make it 1-0.
Our lead late in the tie, did not anyhow stop the visitors from taking the game to us as they now pressed for an equalizer looking to salvage a point.
There was never going to be any dramatic ending as we firmly hang on to our lead until our 11th league win of the season was confirmed by the blowing of the final whistle by the center referee Mwayi Msungama.
What it means
Following the successful mid-week league fixture, Bullets have now reached 40 points having played 19 games.
Doing so, the champions are back on number one position, thanks for the highest goal tally in the league because we match in points with our rivals Mighty Mukuru Wanderers, who however have played two games more than us.
Beating Tigers today meant that Maule have now collected 10 points from the Blantyre derbies they have played so far this season.
Two Blantyre derbies remain to come as return matches against Bangwe All Stars and Mighty Wanderers await.
Next
Having reinstated themselves in the driving seat of the of the TNM Super League of Malawi following the triumph over one of their fiercest city rivals, Kalisto Pasuwa ‘s men will quickly regroup for their FDH Bank Cup semi-final tie against Dedza Dynamos on Sunday afternoon at Kamuzu Stadium.
Starting line-up
Rabson Chiyenda, Gomezgani Chirwa, Collins Okumu, Yamikani Fodya, Eric Kaonga, Frank Willard, Chawanangwa Gumbo, Ernest Petro, Patrick Mwaungulu, Lanjesi Nkhoma, Hassan Kajoke.
Used subs
Nickson Nyasulu, Righteous Banda, Antony Mfune, Ephraim Kondowe
