Our winless run in the TNM Super League continued on Sunday afternoon when we came from behind to draw 1-1 against Civil Service United at Kamuzu Stadium.
It was a lacklustre performance from Kalisto Pasuwa’s men who were mostly second on the ball against a side that was determined to shock the defending champions.
After a goalless first half, Blessings Malinda broke the deadlock in the 54th minute before Ernest Petro restored parity a minute later.
What happenedÂ
Pasuwa handed starts to Blessings Mpokera, Hassan Kajoke and Ronald Chitiyo as he made three changes to the First XI that defeated Bangwe All Stars 5-0 in the FDH Bank Cup last Sunday.
Our first goal-scoring chance came in the 12th minute from a freekick which was well taken by Precious Sambani, but his effort missed the upright with just an inch.
Rahaman John, a former Bullets goalkeeper, was called into action for the first time in the 21st minute when he produced a fantastic save to deny Chawanangwa Gumbo.
Bullets lacked the intensity to take on the opposition as all the spaces were closed down by the defensive duo of John Dambuleni and Charles Mafaiti.
The People’s Team tried so hard to push for a goal and nearly got one in the 26th minute when Chikumbutso Salima delivered an excellent ball into the box to find Sambani, however, our captain’s goal-bound strike was blocked by Masiya Manda.
With 35 minutes played on the clock, Sambani was at it again, sending an excellent ball into the box to Hassan Kajoke only for the forward to waste the chance in a one-on-one situation with John, sending his effort over the crossbar.
That miss nearly proved costly as Civil launched a counter-attack through Malinda, who released a powerful shot at goal, fortunately, Innocent Nyasulu was very alert, producing a save which from the rebound, Muhammad Biyason headed over the bar.
Our final chance in the opening half came in the 42nd minute through Salima, who headed wide when he was found unmarked by Sambani’s brilliant cross.
The drama was far from over. Civil had a clear chance to punish us in the 44th minute when Nyasulu made a brilliant save to deny Malinda but the ball landed straight at Chikaiko Batison whose shot came off the woodwork, and that was all for the half.
Pasuwa made a triple half-time change as he brought on Babatunde Adepoju, Anthony Mfune and Ernest Petro for Chitiyo, Kajoke and Maxwell Phodo as he looked to improve our attacking power.
There was nothing positive to write about after those permutations as we couldn’t press and our intensity dropped, failing to pose any threat to the opposition as the visitors kept on keeping possession to frustrate us.
Against a run of play, Bullets conceded a goal in the 54th minute. Civil won a throw-in to the far right and Masiya Manda found Malinda who dribbled past Sambani, Nickson Nyasulu and Mpokera before beating our short stopper to his far post, 0-1.
We responded very quickly. A minute later, Mfune got the better of Damiano Kunje before sending a delicious pass as he spotted Petro and our No.10 snatched an equalizer with a simple tap-in, 1-1.
At this moment, Bullets raised their tempo and nearly scored another goal through Lloyd Aaron who saw his powerful volley well blocked by Dambuleni for a corner-kick which was well dealt with by John.
Sensing danger, Civil introduced Chifundo Ngapemba and Kingsley Benson for Moses Banda and Righteous Banda in an attempt to regain control of the midfield which was mostly dominated by the would-be Player of the Match Aaron as well as Gumbo and Petro.
In the 70th minute, Salima made a brilliant run to the right before sending a pass to Babatunde but, Dambuleni was quick to react as he made a timely intervention to deny the Nigerian from capitalising.
Three minutes later, Malinda almost doubled his tally when his goal-bound shot swerved past Nyasulu’s goal to the other side of the field where Batison failed to take the ball home as he was closed down by Sambani.
At 80 minutes, Pasuwa brought in Crispin Mapemba and Stanley Billiat for Salima and Gumbo.
Civil should have restored their lead when Ngapemba played a fast one on Nyasulu to play Malinda onside and with only Nyasulu to beat, he failed to slot the ball home, allowing Sambani to regain territory before clearing the ball away to safety.
Bullets failed to create meaningful chances in the last minutes of the match and the spoils were shared at Kamuzu Stadium, registering a third straight draw and an eighth this season.
What it means
With Sunday’s stalemate at home, Bullets missed an opportunity to move back into the Top 5 of the TNM Super League Table.
From seventh position before Sunday’s matches, the defending champions are sixth in the table with 17 points while Civil Service United sit in 11th position with 15 points.
Silver Strikers, who came from behind to draw 2-2 against Kamuzu Barracks at Civo Stadium on the same afternoon, remain top of the table with 30 points.
What next
Next on the menu for The People’s Team is a fixture against FOMO FC at Kamuzu Stadium on Wednesday before travelling to the North where we will play Karonga United in another league match.
