The ninth edition of the Airtel Top 8 kicked off yesterday with two quarterfinal first leg matches producing no winner at Bingu National Stadium in Lilongwe.
Defending champions FCB Nyasa Big Bullets started their title defence with a 1-1 stalemate with Ekhaya FC in a late kick off whereas Blue Eagles and Civil Service United played to a goal-less draw in an early kick off at the same venue.
All teams have everything to play for in the second legs slated for next month.
Ekhaya will host Bullets at Mpira Stadium whereas Civil will welcome Eagles at Civo Stadium in Lilongwe.
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The match between Bullets and Ekhaya produced moments of brilliance as both teams came to the party.
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Bullets striker Hassan Kajoke missed several chances in the first half.
After a barren first half, in which Bullets had more scoring opportunities than Ekhaya, the deadlock was broken just seconds into the second half.
George Chaomba scored the first goal of the 2026 edition when he tapped in a Misheck Billiati cross. After the goal, Ekhaya reorganised themselves and took the game to Bullets.
Allen Chihana pulled the Cowboys level with a clever finish after good work from James Lumbe. The Cowboys had some penalty appeals turned down by referee David Chinoko.
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It was the first game for Bullets new Zambian coach Wedson Nyirenda.
Bullets assistant coach Heston Munthali rued the team’s missed chances.
“It was a game where we could have scored more goals but we missed a lot of chances especially in the first half. In the second half, we scored an early goal but we were not comfortable on the ball,” Munthali said.
On his part, Ekhaya coach Enos Chatama said his charges also missed several scoring opportunities.
“We had several chances and we could have wrapped up the game in the second half but unfortunately we failed to convert our chances,” Chatama said.
In an early kick off, Eagles and Civil shared the spoils after a goal-less stalemate at the same venue.
The two teams will face each other in the second leg at Civo Stadium in Lilongwe next month.
Both Eagles and Civil created several scoring opportunities but lacked composure upfront.
Eagles striker Tonic Viyuyi had the best chance of the match but his effort was cleared off the line by Civil defender John Dambuleni.
On the other hand, Civil had their chances through Madalitso Maso and Righteous Banda but Eagles’ goalkeeper Precious Masamba made some crucial saves.
