Ntopwa blues continue
Strugglers Ntopwa FC had an afternoon to forget as they failed to withstand Mighty Wanderers’ firepower in a TNM Super League match which they lost 4-1 at Kamuzu Stadium in Blantyre Wednesday.
The result saw Wanderers move to position eight on the log table with 16 points from 11 matches while Ntopwa are 10th with 14 points from 12 assignments.
The result was bad news for Ntopwa after a 4-0 hammering at the hands of current leaders Civil Service United at the same venue last weekend.
For Wanderers, it was a great day at the office after bagging their third victory in four matches. The Nomads commenced the football restart with a 2-1 win over Ekwendeni Hammers but lost their second match 1-0 to Moyale.
The Lali Lubani Road side then recovered to thump Chitipa United 3-0 before collecting full points Wednesday.
What looked like a slow and tight match during the first 30 minutes turned into an exciting encounter when Hendrix Misinde broke the ice after being set up by Josaya Duwa who got the better of Wanderers defender Lughano Kayira.
The goal was all that the Nomads needed to wake up from their slumber. The giants started pushing forward and managed to force three consecutive corner kicks, one of which saw Peter Wadabwa levelling the scores through a header in the 33rd minute from a Vitumbiko Kumwenda ball.
Kumwenda was also the architect of Wanderers’ second goal as he fed Babatunde Adepoju, who converted for the first half to end 2-1.
The Nomads continued torturing Ntopwa in the second half, with Babatunde turning into provider to overlapping defender Stanley Sanudi to make it 3-1 in the 57th minute.
Realising that the game was fast slipping out of their hands, Ntopwa rested midfielder Victor Chirambo for the fresh legs of Sammy Banda but the move proved too little, too late as Isaac Kaliati wrapped up the match with the fourth goal after combining well with fellow substitute Misheck Botomani.
Ntopwa had a chance to score another goal in the dying minutes of the match from the spot after Lucky Malata brought down Arthur Moffat but it was not to be as Richard Chipuwa made a double save to deny Mphatso Magaleta.
Wanderers Coach Bob Mpinganjira hailed his boys for the win.
“My boys played according to instructions. Of course, we started on a slow note but I am grateful to my players for picking up the tempo of the match to silence our opponents. I am happy for them and it is my hope that they will continue with the fine form,” Mpinganjira said.
Ntopwa Technical Director Isaac ‘Jomo’ Osman conceded defeat and expressed concern with his team’s failure to win matches.
“We can’t win matches anymore despite playing well. This is quite worrisome. We have to go back to the drawing board and rectify our mistakes,” Osman said.
