Moyale doubles derby bragging rights

Moyale Barracks Football Club has become the reigning king in the city of Mzuzu after winning two first round TNM Super League derby matches against Ekwendeni Hammers 3-2 on April 10 and Mzuzu Warriors last Saturday 1-0.

Playing on a muddy pitch on Saturday, it took time for both teams to settle down but the soldiers settled earlier than the warriors.

Chrispin Fukizi and Clifford Fukuzi for Moyale Barracks were on top of their game as they both controlled things in the middle of the park. They kept the engine room for the soldiers very busy as they kept supplying relevant and meaningful balls across the pitch.

Brown Magaga and Lloyd Njaliwa were thorns for the warriors as well, as they made dangerous runs on the flanks throughout the match.

Magaga’s corner kick in the 31st minute found Njaliwa in the box and he easily tapped the ball into Warriors’ net as their defence led by towering Suzgo Mwakasinga failed to get rid of the piece of leather.

Two minutes later, Gastin Simkonda’s header missed the target with a whisker.

In the second half, Mzuzu Warriors looked a bit more organised. George Chaomba, Dan Sibale and Collen Nkhulambe started giving problems to Moyale Barracks defence comprising of Sandress Munthali, Lovemore Jere, Black Aliseni and Boyboy Chima.

The two sides attacked each other throughout the second half but it was only Njaliwa’s 31st minute goal that separated the two sides as referee Misheck Juba blew the final whistle.

Chrispin Fukizi for Moyale Barracks was named player of the match.

Assistant Coach for Moyale Barracks, Prichard Mwansa, thanked his charges for collecting three points against rivals Mzuzu Warriors.

“It wasn’t easy to get three points against Mzuzu Warriors. They are a good side. We have never won against them in a derby in the past few years. It fees good to register a win today. We want to finish on a better position at the end of the first round and we will continue working hard,” Mwansa told Nyasa Times.

The losing coach, Gilbert Chirwa, said his players approached the match poorly in the first half.

“Moyale Barracks were tactically good especially in the first half. They were on top of us. But the changes we made in the second half helped us to create chances only that we couldn’t hit the back of the net. We will keep working hard to get out of the relegation zone,” explained Chirwa.

The Warriors are anchoring the log table with only 8 points from 12 games while the soldiers are on position 9 with 18 points from 13 games.