FCB Nyasa Big Bullets maintained pursuit of bitter archrivals Mighty Wanderers in the TNM Super League title race with a 2-0 victory over Ekhaya Football Club (FC) at Mpira Stadium in Blantyre yesterday.
But the day ultimately belonged to Mighty Wanderers FC, who edged Civil Service United 1-0 at Kamuzu Stadium in the commercial city to tighten their grip at the summit with 65 points while Bullets are second with 62.
Both teams have two matches to wind up the season.
Meanwhile, Karonga United held defending champions Silver Strikers to a 1–1 draw at Karonga Ground in Karonga District.
The result saw Silver maintaining their third spot with 57 points having played 27 matches.
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At Mpira, Bullets delivered a composed and clinical performance when it mattered most.
After a cautious opening spell, the breakthrough arrived in the 33rd minute from Maxwell Phodo, who made an instant impact just two minutes after coming on.
A slick combination down the left involving Peter Banda and Chikumbutso Salima split open the Ekhaya defence, with Phodo reacting quickest to slot home the opener.
Bullets doubled the advantage deep into first-half stoppage time with Phodo dancing past an Ekhaya defender before laying the ball for Ephraim Kondowe to finish off.
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The second half saw Bullets controlling proceedings, shutting down Ekhaya’s sporadic attacks to secure maximum points.
Within the commercial city, Wanderers’ decisive moment came from sustained pressure down the left where Sama Tanjong delivered a dangerous cross that forced defender Charles Mafaiti to score into his own net two minutes into the match.
Not a spectacular strike, but its significance could not be overstated as it ensured that Wanderers remained top of the table.
Wanderers Coach Bob Mpinganjira said it was a difficult match as Civil also wanted to win.
“I am happy that we have won the match. The three points are very important to us in the title chase. We started very well and managed to get a goal, after which we slowed down and were second on the ball. This helped our opponents to start keeping the ball and dominating us. I think the players were under pressure to collect three points,” Mpinganjira said.
Bullets coaches were not available for interviews but Ekhaya’s Enos Chatama said it was a good match despite his charges failing to settle down in the first half.
“We were supposed to keep the ball and defend well. We conceded goals that could have been avoided. We need to go back and work on these problems,” Chatama said.
