Babatunde Adepoju punished his former club Mighty Mukuru Wanderers as FCB Nyasa Big Bullets progressed to the quarterfinals of the FDH Bank Cup with a 2-1 triumph at Kamuzu Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
The Nigerian scored a brace in the opening 26 minutes before Cameroonian Thierry Tanjong Sama pulled one for the hosts in the 86th minute as the Blantyre derby went Maule’s way.
What happened
Eyeing his third quarterfinal place in three consecutive seasons, Kalisto Pasuwa welcomed back Frank Willard with a place in the first XI, for the first time since the Bullets number 6 picked up an injury in November.
Colin Mujuru also went straight into Sunday’s starting lineup following his recovery from an injury that kept him on the sidelines for several weeks. The Zimbabwean partnered Nickson Nyasulu in central defence while Crispin Mapemba replaced Precious Sambani on the left wing of the backline.
Pasuwa also handed Richard Chimbamba his first start in the competition this campaign, replacing Innocent Nyasulu, who was on the bench.
The Nomads were the first to launch an attack through Clement Nyondo who set up Isaac Kaliati closer to the penalty box but, the winger fired wide.
In the same minute, soon after regaining their territory, Bullets launched a spectacular counter-attack through Lloyd Aaron who found Chikumbutso Salima and the winger sprinted on the right before releasing the ball into the area, forcing Muhammad Kung’unde and his goalkeeper Dalitso Khungwa to collide, allowing Babatunde to tap in from close range, 0-1.
The lead should have been cut short in the 8th minute when Kaliati sent a dangerous delivery from a corner kick, catching Bullets defenders off-guard and the ball landed safely at Christopher Kumwembe who saw his shot hit the post and from the rebound, Nyondo failed to connect as Nyasulu made a timely clearance to keep Bullets in the lead.
Wanderers kept on dominating possession, controlling play and moving the ball around effortlessly.
From the 17th minute to the 20th minute, the Lali Lubani side had won three set pieces inside Bullets’ half, but they failed to capitalise as the visitors defended with everything to maintain the slender lead.
As the Nomads enjoyed possession, Bullets played a fast one on their neighbours when yet another counter-attack, through Salima, caught Wanderers’ defence napping when his through ball found Maxwell Phodo inside the penalty area.
The forward just laid the ball to Babatunde who wasted no time to pounce, beating Khungwa to his near post, 0-2.
After this second goal, the momentum shifted as Bullets took control of the game, a grip they wouldn’t release until the final whistle. And unlike their rivals, they made that control count.
With The People’s Team leading, any mistake from the visitors would inspire Wanderers to be very offensive and they nearly pulled one back in the 30th minute when Salima handled the ball closer to the box.
Kaliati, Wanderers’ dangerous set-piece taker, stepped up and saw his effort hit the side net as the home fans thought they had pulled one back.
At this moment, Meck Mwase’s men kept winning more set-pieces closer to Bullets’ penalty box but were unable to break our backline.
With 36 minutes played, Mwase brought in Wisdom Mpinganjira and Sama for Nyondo and Kumwembe as he looked to improve his attacking prowess.
In the 38th minute, another setpiece to Wanderers saw Kaliati stepping up only to be denied by Richard Chimbamba who produced a massive save to keep the title holders in the lead.
The final opportunity for the Nomads came in the 44th minute through another free kick closer to the area. Kaliati stepped up and curved the ball above Bullets’ defensive wall to hit the post and from the rebound, the ball landed in the path of Felix Zulu and the midfielder blasted his effort over the crossbar for a goal kick.
After the recess, Mwase introduced goalkeeper William Thole for Khungwa who was making his first derby appearance since joining the club from Mighty Tigers a season ago.
Unlike the first half, the derby slowed down, with Wanderers keeping possession but without any real penetration.
With 52 minutes played, Sama saw his long-range effort stopped by Chimbamba as the Nomads kept on knocking.
An hour on the clock, the hosts were leading in terms of possession but Bullets had a two-goal advantage over their rivals. Blessings Mpokera came on for Mujuru, who was also making his first appearance since May this year.
For the next ten minutes, Bullets retreated and played too deep in their half while Wanderers pushed through Mpinganjira and Gaddie Chirwa, but any serious threat inside our penalty box was well dealt with by Pasuwa’s men.
The Nomads had a chance in the 68th minute when Kaliati exchanged passes with Sama but the striker saw his weaker attempt easily tamed by Chimbamba.
Mwase brought in Vincent Nyangulu and Mphatso Kamanga for Zulu and Kaliati.
Sama, in the 72nd minute, pounced on Bullets with a powerful header that went straight at Chimbamba.
As Wanderers were pushing for a goal, the match was stopped in the 73rd minute after a section of the home fans started throwing objects onto the field in protest against referee Easter Zimba’s decision not to award them a corner-kick.
Play resumed with ten minutes wasted and it was Wanderers who capitalized in the 86th minute when Sama pounced from close range as Bullets were looking for the flag to be up for offside, 1-2.
This meant one thing; a nervous end to the last minutes of the match. Wanderers were now pushing, with Bullets defending too deep.
Pasuwa’s men almost pounced on their opponents with yet another counter-attack. However, Phodo’s pass bound for Babatunde was cut by Kung’unde to the relief of the blue and white side of the city.
Ten minutes of stoppages were added.
Wanderers had an opportunity to level when Zimba waved play-on to what looked like a foul on Mpokera.
Madinga made a run and crossed the ball into the box only to see Mapemba coming to Bullets’ rescue with a ‘game-winning’ clearance.
There was still time for Chimbamba to be called into action and he did well in the 96th minute when he rose to the occasion to deal with a dangerous cross from Stanley Sanudi.
The last minutes saw Bullets winning freekicks inside their half and after the end of the additional time, Zimba blew his whistle to send the Red Army into massive celebrations.
What it means
The result means Bullets have maintained their perfect record over Wanderers in cup competitions, having knocked them out of the Castel Challenge Cup last year at the same venue.
Following the draw conducted at halftime on Sunday afternoon, Bullets will host Civil Service United in the quarterfinals of the competition at Kamuzu Stadium next week.
