Bullets return to Kamuzu Stadium for our final first-round home game in the TNM Super League as we host Karonga United on Saturday.
The fixture comes after the defending champions hammered Balaka FC on Sunday at Balaka Stadium in the round-of-16 of the prestigious FDH Bank Cup to book a quarterfinal spot.
But before that, The People’s Team played out to a 2-2 draw against Dedza Dynamos to drop our first two points at home in the current season.
Kalisto Pasuwa’s men now face a resilient side currently doing well in the league despite a poor start this campaign.
We take a look at how they have performed so far in the 2023 season.
The Northern Region-based outfit started their campaign with a 1-1 draw away to Moyale Barracks. Josiah Duwa scored to help them earn a hard-fought point at Mzuzu Stadium.
In the second week, they hosted their neighbours Chitipa United and almost had their first win as they scored two quick goals through Sherrif Shamama and Saulos Moyo, but surrendered their lead with few minutes remaining to draw 2-2.
The result meant they were still searching for their first win of the new season.
In week three, Karonga registered their first win brilliantly. Against all odds, they registered a 3-2 away victory over Mafco FC at Chitowe Stadium courtesy of strikes from Alfred Chizinga, Josiah Duwa and Davie Tobias.
But they couldn’t continue from where they stopped in week three when they lost 2-1 to Bangwe All Stars at home. Chizinga scored their consolation goal.
Their next assignment was another home game against Civil Service United in week five. Tobias, their leading scorer in the current campaign, scored the only goal to inspire them to their second win after five league games.
Then, they travelled to Lilongwe to face rookies, Extreme FC, at Civo Stadium. The match ended goalless. At this stage, they were still stuck in the bottom six of the log table.
They next visited Mzuzu Stadium to face Ekwendeni Hammers. Tobias was again on the scoresheet as they salvaged a point with a 1-1 draw against their fellow Northern Region side.
For five consecutive weeks, they dropped points when they met Mighty Tigers, Mighty Mukuru Wanderers, Silver Strikers and Red Lions.
They lost 2-1 to Wanderers at home in week eight. Chizinga scored their consolation goal. Then they hosted Tigers the following week where Tobias scored in the late stages of the match to earn a point following a 1-1 draw.
Karonga’s next assignment was a trip to the Central Region against Silver. This is where they registered their first heavy defeat of the season when they got hammered 4-0 at the Bingu National Stadium.
They proceeded to Balaka for another fixture away from their base. Red Lions got the better of Karonga United with a hard-fought 2-1 win, piling more pressure on them as they dropped into the bottom three. They scored their goal through Allen Chihana.
But they recovered when they registered two back-to-back victories over Dedza Dynamos at Karonga Stadium and Blue Eagles at Nankhaka Stadium.
Their goals against Dedza were scored by Moyo and Duwa, who was also on the scoresheet against Eagles.
The six points collected in the two victories saw them moving up to 7th in the standings with 18 points from 14 games.
They have scored 16 goals and let in 19 goals.
Their dangerous man on the field
Davie Tobias is probably their dangerous man on the field of play. From the 16 goals Karonga have netted, the striker has found the back of the net five times, seconded by Josiah Duwa, who has four goals.
However, based on the number of goals conceded, it means they are vulnerable in defence. They are the third-highest conceding team in the league, having let in 19 goals, behind Red Lions (24) and Dedza Dynamos (20).
Their technical team
They started their 2023 season with a new coach in the name of Kondwa Ikwangwa, who resigned along the way. His last game for Karonga United was when they got knocked out of the FDH Bank Cup by Kamuzu Barracks at home.
His assistant, former Escom United, TP Mazembe and Bullets striker, Luke Bruno Milanzi, took over from him, and he has been in charge of the team to date.
How the team has performed away from home
They have won two, lost two, and drawn three in seven away matches.
Our Saturday opponents beat Mafco FC and Blue Eagles, lost to Silver and Red Lions and drew against Extreme FC, Moyale Barracks, and Ekwendeni Hammers.
Karonga have collected nine points from the possible 21 points from their away-from-home games.
Their away record against Bullets in the league
They have never defeated Bullets at Kamuzu Stadium since earning promotion into the top-flight league. In the two previous visits, they lost 3-2 in the 2020/21 season before being hammered 3-1 at the same venue last season.
