FCB Nyasa Big Bullets came from behind to beat Karonga United 3-1 in the TNM Super League at Kamuzu Stadium on Wednesday afternoon.
Nickson Nyasulu gifted the visitors a lead early in the half before Gomegzani Chirwa responded in the stoppage time of the opening period to level the scores before the break.
What happened
From the onset, the hosts were all over the place, taking the game to the visitors who were defending in numbers to avoid conceding an early goal.
The first chance of the match came in the 6th minute when Babatunde Adepoju did brilliant work by beating William Mwalwimba and Nangie Songa before setting up Wongani Lungu inside the penalty box, but the midfielder blasted his effort over the crossbar.
Moments later, Babatunde had a chance to break the deadlock when Chikumbutso Salima found him unmarked, only to see his shot well saved by McLean Mwale, who was in control of everything thrown at him.
Bullets would later regret the missed chances when Karonga took a surprise lead in unbelievable circumstances.
As usual, Pasuwa’s men were in control of possession, passing the ball at will until Nickson Nyasulu had the ball into our net when he wanted to exchange passes with goalkeeper Innocent Nyasulu in our defensive zone. However, the shot-stopper was caught off-guard to see the ball rolling into the net, 0-1.
This goal was a motivation for the visitors and, at the same time, a setback to Bullets who, in all fairness, should have had more than three goals in the opening minutes.
With 20 minutes played, referee Cedrick Mwachumu awarded The People’s Team a penalty kick following a foul on Chikumbutso Salima by Robert Luhanga inside the area. Babatunde stepped up and saw his spot-kick stopped by the visiting goalkeeper to concede a corner kick which we couldn’t utilize.
It was the Nigerian forward’s second penalty miss in the 2024 league campaign.
Half-hour mark on the clock, another goal-scoring chance fell to Phodo, who was very casual in approach by easily gifting the ball to Mwale with a weak header.
The forward was once again denied by the shot-stopper in the 40h minute when his shot was parried away for another corner kick, which caused commotion to Karonga before being wasted by Yamikani Mologeni.
The hosts were frustrated by their wastefulness in the final third. As for Karonga, it was an opportunity to catch Bullets on the counter, and they nearly pounced on Pasuwa’s men in the 42nd minute when Blessings Mwalilino got the better of Blessings Mpokera and Gomezgani Chirwa, before firing straight at Nyasulu.
The scoreline was level in the second minute of the additional minutes when Salima released Babatunde to the left, and the forward sprinted towards the goal before setting up the advancing Chirwa and the Bullets captain made a simple tap-in, 1-1.
Karonga suffered a blow before the break when Ellie Kayombo was stretchered off after sustaining an injury, and he was replaced by Allen Chihana.
There was momentum for Bullets in the final seconds of the first half and we nearly found the back of the net through Lloyd Aaron, who released a thunderous shot that missed Mwale’s left-hand side with an inch, marking the end of a one-sided first half that was mostly dominated by the home side.
After the recess, Pasuwa brought in Kenneth Pasuwa, Ephraim Kondowe, and Stanley Billiat for Phodo, Nickson Nyasulu, and Chawanangwa Gumbo, while the visitors introduced Victor Chirambo and Saulos Moyo for Luhanga and Alfred Chizinga.
The first opportunity in the final half fell favourably at Kondowe, who was found unmarked in a shooting position by Billiat, but the forward’s firing technique let him down as he blasted his effort over the crossbar.
Bullets were pressing, and they should have a lead in the 51st minute when Babatunde, who was causing more havoc in the attacking area, made a brilliant run and unleashed a powerful effort that was once again well-guarded by Mwale, who was keeping his team in the game.
And moments after this opportunity, Kondowe missed a seater when Babatunde’s pass found him unmarked inside the six-yard box. The forward calmly controlled the ball before shooting at the goal, but surprisingly, the ball hit Songa before deflecting out for a corner kick.
It was from that set piece that resulted in Bullets’ second goal. Pasuwa delivered a brilliant cross that was powered home by Kondowe, redeeming himself from his earlier miss, 2-1.
After the hour mark, Colin Mujuru, who has been absent for the better part of this season, replaced Mpokera, who suffered a concussion in an aerial combat.
As Mujuru was yet to settle down, the Zimbabwean defender had to join the rest of the players in celebrating Billiat’s goal to make it 3-1 in the 60th minute.
The hosts were still pressing for more, and should have had another goal in the 65th minute through Lungu, who did excellent work by running into the box before firing at goal, unfortunately, our no.19 was denied by Mwale.
Pasuwa brought in Frank Willard for Salima in the 66th minute, perhaps resting him for another battle ahead in our final match of the league campaign against Kamuzu Barracks on Saturday.
73 minutes played on the clock, Kondowe failed to double his tally when he was found unmarked by Billiat. The striker, who found himself in a one-on-one situation with Mwale, easily gifted the ball to the shot-stopper, leaving Pasuwa in denial as it was very easy to score than to miss.
With nine minutes left to play, Ernest Chisamba replaced Caston Kayuni for the Northern Region-based side.
Babatunde, after providing two assists on the day, continued his search for a goal and nearly got one in the 89th minute, but his shot went wide.
Seven minutes of added time almost resulted in another goal for Bullets when Billiat created shooting space for himself, only to be denied by Mwale, who, despite conceding three goals, saved his team from humiliation against The People’s Team, and in the end, 3-1 was the result.
What it means
Despite this win, the likely position for the outgoing TNM Super League champions is number three as Mighty Mukuru Wanderers will just need a draw against Moyale Barracks in the final game on Saturday.
Even if the Nomads lose on Saturday, a win for Pasuwa’s charges over Kamuzu Barracks on the same day will not guarantee them the second slot due to their inferior goal difference to the Nomads, which is 37 against 21.
However, it was sweet revenge for Maule beating Karonga after they defeated us 2-1 in the reverse fixture at Karonga Stadium in July.
Looking forward
Following the midweek victory, we will now focus on our final league fixture of the season when we host Kamuzu Barracks in Blantyre on Saturday.
