TNM Super League first-round winners Silver Strikers are proudly looking back at the first round of the league with the numbers speaking in their favour.
Silver finished the round with a goalless draw with Moyale at Mzuzu Stadium on Sunday to gain an unassailable 37 points from 15 matches.
The result confirmed the Central Bankers’ status as the only team that never lost a match in the first round.
Silver have every reason to float on air as their current number of points is seven better than at the same stage last season.
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At that time, they finished the first round on second position with eight wins, six draws and one loss.
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Things have completely changed this season as, out of the 15 matches they have played to wrap up the first round, they have won 11 and drawn four.
The Area 47 giants have also done very well in terms of goals, with their 34 strikes being out of reach of any of their opponents in the elite league.
Mighty Mukuru Wanderers and Kamuzu Barracks are second on the total number of goals for each team with 20 each.
Silver’s defence also proved to be a hard nut to crack as it conceded just nine goals in the entire first round.
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This has given the team a massive goal difference of 25, with a 100 percent win record at home.
At home, Silver have conceded just four goals out of the nine matches they played at Silver Stadium in Lilongwe.
The Central Bankers made good use of playing at Silver, where they collected 24 points, with 13 points coming from away fixtures which gave them three wins and four draws.
Their highest score margin was five goals at home against Mafco and Mzuzu City Hammers, with the lowest being a 1-0 win over Fomo.
Away from home, Silver were not as lethal, with just eight goals compared to the 24 scored at home.
They also proved to be a comeback team after coming from behind twice to secure a point against Kamuzu Barracks and Dedza Dynamos in matches that ended 2-2 and 1-1, respectively.
Midfielder Uchizi Vunga and right-back McDonald Lameck managed to score the fastest goals for Silver, finding the back of the net within five minutes.
“Vunga scored his goal against Karonga United while Lameck did the same against Mzuzu City Hammers.
Midfield maestro Chimwemwe Idana is this far the only one to have scored very late into a match for the Area 47 outfit as he registered his name on the score sheet at 96 minutes against Karonga United.
“Despite being the ones with the fastest goals for the Central Bankers, Vunga, and Lameck also share a unique fact as being the only players with the highest goal assists in the league. They both have five,” reads the first round analysis on Silver’s website.
The analysis would be incomplete without the mention of their goalkeeper George Chikooka, who tops the most clean sheets chart, having not conceded in nine matches.
Silver Coach Peter Mponda commended stakeholders in the team for their support.
“We had support in the first round and we can only hope that things will be the same in the second round. We have not yet achieved anything. We need to continue winning in the second round so that we finish well. What matters is how we finish this race,” Mponda said.
The first round of the league ended yesterday with two matches between Baka City and Mighty Mukuru Wanderers in Karonga and Creck Sporting and Premier Bet Dedza Dynamos at Civo Stadium in Lilongwe.
Super League of Malawi Vice General Secretary Donnex Chilonga said there will be no break.
“We need to catch up with time. Our target is to finish the season in November. We are anticipating several delays between now and that time; so, we just have to continue with our matches,” Chilonga said.
