By Peter Fote & Williams Gondwa:
Mighty Mukuru Wanderers warmed up for their crunch league clash against Silver Strikers with a 1-0 win over the Central Bankers to win the Kamuzu Day celebrations match at Kamuzu Stadium Tuesday.
The two giants are expected to meet on Sunday in a crucial TNM Super League match at Silver Stadium in Lilongwe.
However, the giants were given 50 minutes to entertain spectators, including President Lazarus Chakwera and Vice President Saulos Chilima.
Both teams were cautious, resting key players by keeping their faith in fringe players, but it was the Nomads who ended up being on cloud nine following Francesco Madinga’s 16th minute strike.
Silver could have levelled the scores but Christopher Gototo and Charles Chipala were blunt upfront, prompting coach Peter Mponda to make quick changes but his decisions went up in smoke.
Excitement was the prevalent emotion in the Nomads camp, where there is a new mission tagged ‘Making Wanderers Mighty Again’.
Wanderers Assistant Coach Meck Mwase said they were happy to have lifted the Kamuzu Day celebrations trophy.
“We are happy because it will give us confidence to continue doing well. We did not feature a strong side but the boys have done a good job,” Mwase said.
On his part, Mponda said his charges failed to control the match as they were second on the ball.
“We were not creative enough, especially in midfield, but we have seen our shortfalls and we will rectify them,” Mponda said.
Both Mwase and Mponda said they would approach Sunday’s game differently.
