Chitipa United had to wait until the last 15 minutes of their away match against Bangwe All Stars to reclaim the TNM Super League top spot after beating the hosts 0-2 at Mpira Stadium in Blantyre Wednesday.
The result has taken Chitipa to the summit with 39 points from 21 matches, dislodging FCB Nyasa Big Bullets, who are now second with 37 points but with three matches in hand.
Bangwe and Chitipa played before a large crowd that filled up the Football Association of Malawi match facility despite the fixture being played mid-week.
However, neither team was sharp enough to net the first goal in the first half.
Chitipa were coming from a 2-1 loss to Mighty Tigers at Kamuzu Stadium on Sunday and looked hungry for a goal.
Their striking force of Ghedo Lorenzo and China Chirwa proved lethal on several occasions but failed to break Bangwe’s defence, marshaled by former FCB Nyasa Big Bullets and Silver Strikers defender Hadji Wali.
In the second half, both sides made some changes as they searched for goals.
But it was Chitipa who got it right, with Lorenzo breaking the deadlock in the 35th minute of the half.
He was clever enough to beat Bangwe defenders Fanizo Mwansambo and Aaron Chilipa before slotting the ball into the net beyond goalkeeper Ernest Kakhobwe’s reach to make it 0-1.
Bangwe’s fortunes went from bad to worse after Chitipa substitute Godfrey Chikwayeko connected a header into the net from Gideon Sululu’s cross.
The hosts had a chance to score a face-saver in the dying minutes through Chikumbutso Salima but Chitipa goalkeeper George Chikooka frustrated him with a brilliant save.
At the end of the match, Chikooka, who was dropped from the Flames squad, was deservedly named man of the match.
Chitipa Coach MacDonald Mtetemera congratulated his charges for collecting full points.
“I did not pile any pressure on my players after losing to Tigers. So they played their game and emerged victorious. It is always good to win. We lost on Sunday and I knew the boys were down. But I told them to play their game against Bangwe and things worked out well,” Mtetemera said.
His Bangwe counterpart Abel Mkandawire said his charges missed a lot of chances.
“We were the wasteful team in this match. We could have won this match with a bit of some efficiency in front of goal. But this is part of football. Life has to go on. We will go back to the drawing board and rectify our problems in readiness for our next match,” Mkandawire said.
Bangwe are now seventh with 28 points from 21 matches.
