After two years, the Blantyre derby produced a winner in the TNM Super League, as FCB Nyasa Big Bullets defeated rivals Mighty Mukuru Wanderers 2-1 at the Kamuzu Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Ronald Chitiyo opened the scoring, then Nigerian Babatunde Adepoju doubled our lead in the first half before Thierry Tajong Samar pulled one back for our neighbours late in the final half.
What happened
Visitors on paper, The People’s Team looked pretty much at home from the first whistle, looking to unsettle the Nomads’ defence with expansive play.
Twice, the Lawrence Chaziya-led backline had failed to deal with the annoying long balls we dispatched into the area, and for the third time, they got punished.
From the right-hand side, Nickson Nyasulu darted another long ball into the box, and again, the blue side’s backline failed to contain it as Babatunde made a clever dummy and Chitiyo got on the end of it.
The Zimbabwean quickly fired into the net to give us the deserved lead in the 6th minute.
A few moments later, we almost doubled the lead when Chrispin Mapemba sent a wicked corner that required the net-minder William Thole to tip it over the crossbar.
From then on, the Nomads responded well to controlling play, but only for a little while. We were again at their door knocking.
In the 23rd minute, Babatunde brilliantly set up Maxwell Phodo. However, the Bullets number 30 failed to beat Thole with a fancy chip at the near post.
Things threatened to worsen, so the hosts were forced to make an early change. In the 28th minute, they replaced their reserves graduate and former Bullets Under 19s midfielder Daniel Kudonto with Blessings Singini.
Nonetheless, the change did not thwart our dominance as we doubled the lead five minutes before the half-time whistle. This time, it was Babatunde with a simple tap-in after being put through by Wongani Lungu’s pass inside the penalty area.
Going into the second half with a healthy lead, we switched to a cautious style of play and allowed the Nomads to have the ball while lurking to hit them on the counter.
Things looked boringly the same for the hosts. They made two changes: Gaddie Chirwa and Francisco Madinga were introduced for Isaac Kaliati and Stanley Sanudi, who seemed a shadow of themselves on the day.
With 20 minutes to go, the defending champions should have scored a third goal when Wanderers’ defence was caught off guard by a dangerous set piece from the Player of the Match, Mapemba, but Ahmad Kung’unde blocked Chikumbutso Salima’s goal-bound attempt to keep the scoreline 2-0.
Things went from bad to worse for our rivals in the 83rd minute. They were down to ten men after Lawrence Chaziya was sent off. The Malawi defender pushed referee David Chinoko when he cautioned him for a foul as Bullets were attacking.
Despite the red card, the Nomads pulled one back through their Cameroonian hit-man Samar. This followed a communication breakdown between captain Gomezgani Chirwa and his goalkeeper, Richard Chimbamba, who looked for the flag to go up for offside.
That twist made the tie’s ending anxious for both sides, but Maule proved why they are the Malawi champions, not panicking in the final stages.
It never looked like the home side would salvage a point from the 77th Blantyre derby against Bullets as we went nearly to scoring our third when Baba outpaced his markers in the box but fluffed in executing the last touch.
After 99 minutes of football, we emerged victorious against our crosstown rivals with a 2-1 scoreline, marking our first win over them in the TNM Super League since the 2021 season.
What it means
The derby victory takes us to 40 points after 23 games. We sit in third position, 10 points behind league leaders Silver Strikers, who will take on Civil Sporting Club in the Lilongwe derby on Sunday. Wanderers remain second in the standings with 44 points.
Looking forward
After this big win, The People’s Team will focus on another league match at Kamuzu Stadium midweek. We will welcome Premier Bet Dedza Dynamos, who drew 2-2 against Chitipa United away in Chitipa on Saturday.
