Wanderers miss K5.5 million in three days
Financially troubled Mighty Wanderers missed an opportunity to deposit K5.5 million into their account within three days after failing to grab fourth position in the just ended TNM Super League as well as their failure to clinch the Zambezi Challenge Cup.
The Nomads could have received K2.5 million had they beaten Silver Strikers in their league’s last game at Kamuzu Stadium on Tuesday to finish fourth but instead lost 1-2.
And on Sunday, K3 million was dangling in their face but they also missed the jack-pot after going down 0-1 to Caps United of Zimbabwe in the finals of a two-day Zambezi Challenge Cup also played at the Kamuzu Stadium.
Wanderers’ captain, Jacob Ngwira, described the development as a missed opportunity.
He said missing such amount of money in three days was indescribable considering the fact that the team is in deep financial crisis.
“We could have done better by putting an extra gear in all the matches but all in all such things happen in a game of football,” said Ngwira.
The Nomads skipper observed if the team had won both matches, the prize money could have significantly changed the players’ welfare.
He, however, apologized to their fans for the poor result against Silver Strikers as well as Caps United urging them to focus a head for the forthcoming season.
But where did the Nomads lose the K2.5 million during Tuesday’s league decider?
From the word go, the body language of the players exposed some internal problems in their camp.
It all started with the news that the players trained only for few days because they were demanding for their accumulated unpaid allowances.
On the pitch, there was poor coordination between players as they kept misplacing passes with the striking force completely lacking the killer punch.
The strikers went to sleep giving the Bankers’ goaltender, Charles Swini, unwarranted time to relax.
During the TNM Soccer Show programme on Zodiak Radio on Monday, soccer analyst and Nyasa Times sports journalist, Leonard Sharra, stressed that the Nomads’ problem during the just ended season had been scoring goals.
He cited as an example the relegated Mponela United of Dowa scoring more goals than Nomads.
During the Zambezi Challenge Cup game against traditional rivals Big Bullets, the Nomads failed to score in the regulation time and managed to win the game on post-match penalties. They also failed to score against Caps United the following day.
“As the 2014 soccer season nears kick-off in few weeks’ time, it will be wiser for Nomads technical panel to consider strengthening their striking force if they are to avoid losing another K5.5 million in three days,” commented one soccer follower.
Meanwhile, the Nomads aka Nyerere, are expected to meet their rivals Bullets FC at the Kamuzu Stadium this Sunday in what is being called as the Giants Challenge Cup.
The cup will only involve the two Blantyre based soccer giants and will have the second leg played at Civo Stadium in Lilongwe, according to Wanderers’ General Secretary, David Kanyenda.
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