The curtain came down on the first round of the TNM Super League yesterday as Mighty Wanderers clinched top spot following a goal-less stalemate with Civil Service United at Civo Stadium in Lilongwe Sunday.
But there was drama at Kamuzu Stadium in Blantyre as FCB Nyasa Big Bullets gave away a two-goal lead to share the spoils with stubborn Karonga United.
The results mean that the Nomads have won the first round of the league unbeaten with 34 points from 15 matches, one point above second-placed Bullets.
But the title race remains wide open heading into the second round which promises thrills as the top three teams are separated by five points.
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Defending champions Silver Strikers capitalised on their rivals’ setbacks as they narrowed the gap to five points following a 2-0 victory over struggling Mzuzu City Hammers at Rumphi Ground.
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Wanderers may be the only unbeaten side this far but they should be worried after dropping points in their last three consecutive matches.
The goalless draw against Civil came after they shared 1-1 spoils with Moyale Barracks and Chitipa United.
The Nomads wasted several scoring chances against Civil with Blessings Mwalilino being the main culprit.
Civil also wasted two through Dastan Banda to leave the crunching tie without a breakthrough.
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Relief was the prevalent emotion on the part of Wanderers coach Bob Mpinganjira after the stalemate.
“Playing away and getting a draw is not easy. Going forward, we will work on the shortcomings as we prepare for the second round,” Mpinganjira said.
At Kamuzu Stadium, Bullets were destined for a crucial victory but Alfred Chizinga snatched a point for Karonga in the 84th minute to end the match all square.
Blessings Mpokera gave Bullets the lead after six minutes but Benjamin Mapunda pulled Karonga level in the 11th minute.
Mike Mkwate restored the lead four minutes later with Babatunde Adepoju scoring the third goal from the penalty spot.
But Allen Chihana started Karonga’s comeback with the second goal before Chizinga’s late goal sealed a point for the visitors.
Bullets coach Peter Mponda was frustrated with the result.
“We had the game in the pocket but we relaxed. Very frustrating result for us. The team switched off at a crucial stage,” Mponda said.
Elsewhere, second half goals from Emmanuel Allan and Zebron Kalima secured maximum points for Silver against Hammers to see the Central Bankers maintaining third position with 30 points.
At Chitipa Ground, Chitipa United claimed a 1-0 victory over Blue Eagles courtesy of Nelson Sinkaona.
State President Lazarus Chakwera became the first sitting president to watch the match.
The battle for relegation also reached the climax with Songwe Border United failing to register a win in the entire first round, and still anchor the table with just two points.
Hammers are second from bottom with eight points while Premier Bet Dedza Dynamos are third from bottom with 15 points.
