Africa-Press – Malawi. Nyasa Big Bullets have won their fifth consecutive Charity Shield following a 1-0 victory over Silver Strikers in the NBS Bank Charity Shield match played at Kamuzu Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Head coach Kalisto Pasuwa handed starts to Patrick Mwaungulu, Kesten Simbi and Clever Mkungula, with his opposite number Daniel Kabwe going for Chawanangwa Kaonga who was playing his first competitive match since re-joining the club as a free agent.
The Central Bankers started on a good note through Zebron Kalima, Chawanangwa Kaonga, Taonga Chimodzi and Patrick Macheso but Bullets’s back four stood firm to protect Mkungula in goal posts for the home team.
The Bankers had their closest chance just before the half-hour mark when Innocent Shema’s cross found Chawanangwa Kaonga unmarked inside the six-yard box but his overhead kick just missed the upright with an inch.
Bullets then settled down and they should have found the lead in the 26th minute through Mwaungulu’s brilliant freekick but Charles Thom was equal to the task with a fantastic save for a corner which had no impact as Nickson Mwase made a clearance.
Two minutes later, Mwaungulu was at it again, bending the ball from a set piece but Thom was once again came out top with another brilliant save. But on 36th minute, Thom could not do anything to stop Hadji Wali’s powerful header from Misheck Selemani’s well taken corner kick to put the People’s Team in the lead, 1-0.
At the other end, Blessings Tembo decided to take things into his hands when he produced a thunderous shot which Mkungula was able to handle to the relief of Pasuwa’s led technical panel.
With three minutes to go, Kaonga thought he had the ball into the net but his goal bound shot was deflected into the hands of Mkungula and that was all for the half.
In the second half, Bullets was the much improved team, with Chimwemwe Idana, Henry Kabichi and Mwaungulu all pressing for another goal but Maxwell Paipi and Mwase were very outstanding in defence for the Bankers.
Mwaungulu nearly found Babatunde Adepoju in the attacking zone with a brilliant through ball but Mwase came in the nick of time to keep his team in the match with a brilliant interception.
In the 50th minute, Idana set up Selemani in the left flank but his shot went over the cross bar for a goalkick and that was his final involvement in the game as he got injured and was replaced by Macfallen Mgwira, with Mwaungulu paving the way for Ernest Petro in the Central Attacking Midfield.
The Bankers also introduced Frank Banda and Duncain Nyoni for Stain Davie and Kalima as they tried to improve their attacking options. In the 74th minute, Wali was caught napping in the line of duty when he was outpaced by Kaonga who fired at goal but Mkungula produced a brilliant save to maintain Bullets’ lead.
In the 82nd minute, Maxwell Gasten came in for Macheso whilst Stainley Billiat replaced Lanjesi Nkhoma who sustained an injury. Billiat nearly made an impact when Mgwira’s cross found him unmarked but his header was well saved by Thom.
With less than five minutes to go, Bullets almost doubled their lead in a brilliant fashion. Petro user his pace to outsmart the advanced Thom before sending the ball to Billiat but with the goal wide open, the winger failed to put the ball into the net as it was cleared twice before crossing the line. This was costly and Bullets could have paid dearly when Gomezgani Chirwa brought down Gasten on the verge of the 18-yard box in the 87th minute.
Tembo stepped up and curved the ball over Bullets’ defensive wall but it took Mkungula’s brilliance to produce a stunning save when the Bankers thought they had equalized and after 90 minutes of play, Bullets won their fifth Charity Shield in a row and became the most successful team in the annual curtain-raiser.
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