Silver Strikers’ winless streak continued with a goalless stalemate against Extreme FC at Bingu National Stadium in Lilongwe Friday.
The result was frustrating for under-pressure Silver coach Pieter de Jongh who was hoping for a quick return to winning ways after back-to-back defeats to Bangwe All Stars and Red Lions.
It was a bad day for Silver as veteran striker Atusaye Nyondo struck the post from a penalty kick after Frank Sanudi fouled Duncan Nyoni in the box.
The draw means Silver have failed to overtake leaders and defending champions FCB Nyasa Bullets at the summit of the log table.
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However, Silver moved to second position with 33 points from 19 matches, one point below Bullets who have two matches in hand.
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Mighty Mukuru Wanderers and Chitipa United are third and fourth, respectively, with 33 points each having played 18 matches.
Chitipa have a chance to go top of the table if they beat Ekwendeni Hammers at Karonga Ground this afternoon with Wanderers taking on Mafco at Kamuzu Stadium Sunday.
However, referee Pilate Chibengeli left some fans with more questions than answers after awarding Silver a penalty which Nyondo missed.
After the final whistle, de Jongh was a dejected man but said the race is still wide open.
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“We have eleven games to go. We missed a penalty against Extreme, but we will recover,” the Dutchman said.
Extreme coach Andrew Bunya said his troops failed to capitalise on Silver’s weaknesses.
“We desperately needed three points for us to move out of the relegation zone. But the referee was not fair to us. He denied us a clear penalty,” Bunya said.
