Civil Service United interim coach Abasi Makawa was left ruing missed chances as his side shared spoils with Chitipa United following a goal-less stalemate at Civo Stadium in Lilongwe on Wednesday.
The result was enough to push Civil to position 12 on the 16-member TNM Super League log table with 30 points from 26 matches, two points above the relegation zone.
However, Civil are still in danger of dropping to the second-tier as their performance continues to go down.
Makawa said the result was as good as a loss.
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“It was not a tough match for us. We had several chances that could have seen us collecting maximum points but we wasted them all. The players did everything to salvage a win but maybe luck was not on our side,’’ he said.
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Chitipa coach McDonald Mtetemera said a win would have been better for his team.
“We are going back home with a point and it is part of football. But we expected to win this match. It is sad that we have dropped points when what we needed was to collect full points,” Mtetemera said.
Civil could have indeed won the match as they dominated and struck the post twice through Patrick Phiri and Binwell Katinji.
With four matches to go before winding up their league assignments, Civil need to be at their best if they are to survive relegation.
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Their remaining fixtures are against Mighty Mukuru Wanderers and Dedza Dynamos Salima Sugar at home and Ekwendeni Hammers and Bangwe All Stars away.
If Civil win all the matches, they will have 42 points which will be enough to take them to safety.
They also stand a chance to survive if they win two matches out of the four matches.
The battle for survival has reached an exciting stage with eight teams facing relegation.
The Civil Servants do not have any league assignment this weekend as they will be in action against FCB Nyasa Bullets in the second leg of the Airtel Top 8 Cup at Kamuzu Stadium in Blantyre tomorrow.
Extreme FC were the first team to be relegated in the 2023 season whereas Red Lions have slim chances of survival as they have 25 points from 27 matches.
The Zomba-based soldiers can finish on 34 points if they win all their matches.
Moyale Barracks, Hammers, Civil, Mighty Tigers, Blue Eagles, Mafco, Dedza and Bangwe are also not safe and must continue fighting to evade the chop.
Sports analyst Sherry Msuku said the battle for survival this season is quite tricky.
“The fight against relegation looks quite exciting as any team which will drop more points in any match will be disadvantaged.
It’s a delicate situation for them,’’ Msuku said.
