Silver, Bullets share spoils in premium fare Silver Strikers have accumulated four points over their inter-city rivals, FCB Nyasa Big Bullets as they were 1-0 winners in the first round of the TNM Super League before Saturday’s barren stalemate to the delight of the Head Coach, Peter Mponda.
The two Super League heavyweights who share 25 league titles shared spoils at a Packed-Silver Stadium. A battle of the defending Champions and the league leaders couldn’t be short of brighter moments, but a draw was described as a fair result by both coaches.
Peter Mponda’s side extended their lead to 5 points over second-placed Mighty Mukuru Wanderers after playing 26 games each. Kalisto Pasuwa is out of the race following the draw and will hope to bounce back stronger next season.
How did the game unfold? Not long ago, the two teams squared off in the Top 8 Cup final where Kalisto Pasuwa who is described as a master for Mponda claimed a narrow 1-0 win at Bingu National Stadium and was crowned the Champions of the tournament for the third time in four years.
It was obviously going to be a tight game which tactical tweaks. Both teams were coming off the back of big wins with Silver Strikers hammering Mafco FC 6-1 in Super League while Bullets were 5-0 winners over Changalume Barracks in the Castel Challenge Cup.
Stain Davie who has scored five goals with Silver Strikers was the man entrusted by Mponda to lead the attack as Binwell Katinji and Gift Chunga who were starters against Mafco were relegated to the bench. Kalisto Pasuwa needed Yankho Singo back into the team to keep stability in midfield and he partnered with Lloyd Aaron Banega in a double pivot.
First half: Silver in good start but Bullets fight back
Silver Strikers were looking to complete a double over FCB Nyasa Big Bullets and their start to the game echoed their ambition. Chinsisi Maonga and Uchizi Vunga combined well to open Bullets’ back-four before Maonga rifled his effort which was pushed away by Richard Chimbamba for an early corner-kick to the hosts which the visitors defended well.
Maxwell Gastin Phodo’s start as the twin striker to Babatunde Adepoju couldn’t reduce the burden on the Nigerian towering striker who was tightly marked by Innocent Shema and Maxwell Paipi. However, the 2022 TNM Super League Golden boot winner moved out of the trap to pounce on Banega’s cross but his header missed the right post of George Chikooka.
Silver Strikers’ goal-keeper is enjoying a dream campaign with the Bankers after sealing his move from Chitipa United earlier this year. He was the merited player of the match today as his gloves are bullet proof.
Yamikani Mologeni thought that he had powered Bullets in front but Chikooka somehow kept his effort away before Stanley Billiati whistled just wide from long-range.
Chimwemwe Idana and Uchizi Vunga who were playing as two Number 8s kept Silver Strikers pushing with their overlapping full-backs, Dan Sandukira and Macdonald Lameck adding numbers in the Bankers’ offensive zone.
Chimwemwe Idana pocketed the space on the left flank before floating the ball into the penalty area targeting Davie but Chimbamba was quick to tame the danger before Uchizi Vunga saw his ambitious effort being denied by Chimbamba.
Chikooka denied Maxwell Gastin Phodo from putiing Bullets ahead just before the break and Babatunde Adepoju also saw his effort by taken away by the goal-keeper for the tie to remain unbreakable at the break.
Second half Tight battle
Silver Strikers were limited to only few clear chances in the first half, prompting Peter Mponda to make two changes just before the restart, Davie and Kalima were hooked off for Binwell Katinji and Gift Chunga with the coach aiming to ignite his attacking line.
Ironically, it was Bullets who were on top of the game early in the second half, winning three corner kicks within the first five minutes. It was a game in which Pasuwa rued missed chances with his strikers firing blunt during the whole game.
Phodo was the culprit of another man arguably to be pointed a finger at as he was in the receiving end of Yamikani Mologeni’s pass but the former Silver Strikers’ striker missed the upright with just inches.
Silver Strikers glow in the game with Vunga forcing Chimbamba to make a save with his pestle hit before Gift Chunga pressed over the bar from rebound. Mponda replaced Idana with Levison Maganizo.
Wongani Lungu who had replaced Ernest Petro could have registered a big impact in the game minutes just after being subbed on but beating Chikooka wasn’t easy as the shot-stopper denied him the access to the goal. Later efforts failed to change the outcome of the match.
Yankho Singo was shown a second yellow card in stoppage time, his first red card since starting playing for FCB Nyasa Big Bullets main team.
What did the coaches say?
Silver Strikers’ head coach Peter Mponda said he was contented with the result, emphasizing the importance of maintaining their five-point lead. “It was a tough game filled with tactical battles. I’m happy we’ve collected four points from Bullets this season.”
His counterpart, Kalisto Pasuwa of FCB Nyasa Big Bullets, admitted it was a fair result. “We lost several chances in the second half but faced a strong first-half challenge from Silver,” he said.
What next for both teams? Silver Strikers will face Mighty Mukuru Wanderers in their next Super League assignment while FCB Nyasa Big Bullets are taking on Civil Service United at Civo Stadium.
