By Isaac Salima
Mighty Mukuru Wanderers yesterday booked a place in the semi-finals of the Castel Challenge Cup after beating Moyale Barracks 3-0 at Kamuzu Stadium.
A potential Blantyre derby could be in the offing as the Nomads will meet the winner between FCB Nyasa Bullets and Ekwendeni Hammers, who meet on Wednesday at the same venue in a quarterfinal tie.
A brace from Misheck Bottomani in the first half and one from Vincent Nyangulu in the second half led Wanderers to the last four of the competition.
Following the win, Wanderers could face their sworn rivals in the semi-finals.
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This follows a draw that was conducted at half time of the game where, in another last four encounter, the winner between Silver Strikers and Blue Eagles will face Bangwe All Stars.
It was a deserved victory for Wanderers, which put up a gallant fight throughout the game to win the match by such a margin after a long time.
Moyale, straight from a 7-0 demolition of fellow soldiers Red Lions in a TNM Super League match last week, looked a promising side in the first half when they were first on the ball and were superb in ball possession and recovery.
However, the Lions of Kaning’ina were awful in the final third. The Nomads recovered and took the game to the soldiers, who had a torrid afternoon to stop pacey ballers in the likes of Vitumbiko Kumwenda, Bottomani, Wisdom Mpinganjira and Gaddie Chirwa.
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Bottomani put Wanderers ahead in the 42nd minute when he headed home a Stanley Sanudi corner kick.
The nimble footed player came again two minutes later when he fired outside the box to beat goalkeeper Simeon Harawa, who lacked proper communication with his defence.
However, the ball slipped past a net, sparking some protest from Moyale players, who claimed that the ball had missed the target. The two teams went for recess with the Nomads leading 2-0.
Nyangulu extended the lead with seven minutes from time through a header from a corner-kick as he exposed Moyale’s deficiencies in defending set-pieces. After the game, Moyale Coach Victor Chingoka said some mistakes cost them the game.
“We let in the first two goals within four minutes. We could have done better to defend those goals. This happens in football. We dominated the game but failed to defend set-pieces. We have learnt some lessons and we wish the Nomads well,” Chingoka said.
Wanderers mentor Mark Harrison said his team was the best on the day.
“We controlled the game pretty much well. Almost 75 percent of possession belonged to us. We got several chances which we could have converted into goals but the 3-0 margin is quite a good result,” Harrison said.
Wanderers have joined Bangwe All Stars in the semifinals. Winner of the K320 million cup will walk away with K50 million, with runners up pocketing K25 million.
