Mighty Mukuru Wanderers hit man Christopher Kumwembe rediscovered his scoring form to take his team to the summit of the TNM Super League following a 2-1 come-from-behind win over Karonga United at Kamuzu Stadium in Blantyre Wednesday.
Kumwembe struck twice to condemn Karonga to their first loss since coach Trevor Kajawa took over.
The lakeshore side had registered four wins and one draw under the former Mighty WakaWaka Tigers mentor.
On a hot afternoon, Karonga proved to be the better team in the first half, taking the lead through Gabinho Daud who shook the net from Josiah Duwa’s freekick from the edge of the penalty box.
Nomads goalkeeper Richard Chipuwa initially looked like he would catch the ball but he fumbled it, allowing Daud to finish it into the net.
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The visitors held on to the lead until half time.
Wanderers went into the second half a changed side after introducing Stanley Sanudi, Frasisco Madinga, Wisdom Mpinganjira and Gaddie Chirwa replacing Emmanuel Nyirenda, Vitumbiko Kumwenda, Chiukepo Msowoya and Vincent Nyangulu.
This saw the tide turn in the Nomads’ favour, with Kumwembe equalising in the 55th minute through a header following Sanudi’s well-taken corner kick.
Kumwembe returned in the dying minutes of the match to score the winning goal, with Madinga doing the spadework.
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This was the former Civil Service United striker’s ninth goal of the season, which took him to second position on the chart with a goal behind Dedza Dynamos striker Clement Nyondo.
Wanderers Coach Mark Harrison thanked his charges for working hard to collect full points.
“It was not an easy match as we were coming from a cup defeat. All we wanted was to win and bring the life back into our team. We are playing crucial games and we are treating them with great care. We will make sure that we maintain our style of play throughout,” Harrison said.
Kajawa said his players failed to absorb pressure after conceding the equaliser.
“We started defending after scoring. This was a big mistake. Of course, we managed to hold Wanderers up to half time, which was good. We were only punished in the second half due to lack of communication. But all is not lost. We just need to plan for next assignments,” he said.
The win has taken the Nomads to the summit with 40 points, displacing Chitipa United, who are now second with 39 points from 21 points.
