Mighty Wanderers president Thomson Mpinganjira has warned the club against treating its Airtel Top 8 final against Ekhaya FC at Bingu National Stadium in Lilongwe on Sunday as a foregone conclusion.
The two clubs, which are both bankrolled by the Mpinganjira family, meet at the same venue where Wanderers lifted the trophy in 2022.
The final carries extra significance as a contest of family pride with the winner pocketing K40 million.
Mpinganjira did not mince his words, saying the threat posed by Ekhaya’s giant-killing run to the final should not be taken for granted.
- Advertisement -
“We need to approach this game with great caution knowing that Ekhaya knocked [last year’s winners FCB Nyasa Big] Bullets out of the competition. This will not be a small and ordinary game, and only the best team on the day will win,” he said.
- Advertisement -
The Cowboys eliminated Bullets in a quarterfinal that finished 6-5 on postmatch penalties after a 2-2 stalemate on aggregate.
The result ended any notion that the four-year-old club were merely making up the numbers in the competition.
They followed that up with a 2-1 semi-final win over Karonga United to book their place in Sunday’s final, becoming only the second club, after Silver Strikers in the tournament’s inaugural 2017 edition, to reach the final on a first attempt.
Wanderers are chasing their second Airtel Top 8 title in nine seasons and their pedigree in the competition is not in question.
- Advertisement -
This is their third final appearance, having lost to Silver Strikers on penalties in the 2017 decider before beating bitter rivals Bullets on spot-kicks to claim the trophy in 2022.
Their route to Sunday’s final came via a 3-1 aggregate quarter-final win over Creck Sporting Club, followed by a penalty shoot-out victory over Blue Eagles in the semi-finals after normal time ended goalless.
But Wanderers Director of Football, David Kanyenda, struck a noticeably more assured tone than his club president.
“We are facing a good side. Ekhaya are a good team. But they will be under pressure because they have never been on such a big stage. We have been there several times and we have the experience of managing games. We will win it, pressure or no pressure,” he said.
Ekhaya are embracing the underdog tag rather than shrinking from it, with coach Enos Chatama saying reaching a first-ever major final has sharpened his side’s appetite for silverware. “It is everyone’s ambition to win a trophy after reaching a final. As Ekhaya, we will be happy if we manage to get over the line and win this cup. Wanderers are a good team, a big team, and we respect them.
“But we are also coming from a difficult path—we beat Bullets, a team that has not lost in this tournament in the last three years. So we are ready for the final,” Chatama said.
The two sides are in contrasting form ahead of the final, a factor that may explain the elder Mpinganjira’s caution.
Ekhaya have won just once in their last five matches across all competitions, their solitary victory coming in the Top 8 semi-final against Karonga United.
The Cowboys recently endured league defeats to Chitipa United, Creck and Silver and a draw with Bullets.
Wanderers, by contrast, head into the final on the back of consecutive league wins over Kamuzu Barracks and Red Lions.
