Bankers rise from doldrums to haunt rivals Civo: Malawi TNM Super League

After one of their poorest starts to the league, giants Silver Strikers rose from the doldrums to defeat their city rivals Civo United 2-1 in a TNM Super League match played on Sunday, May 1, 2016 at Civo Stadium in Lilongwe.

The Central Bankers had one of their worst starts to the Super League campaign, having lost their opening two games against Be Forward Wanderers and Azam Tigers right at their home-base in Lilongwe’s Area 47.

But this time round, they were a much more organised side as coach Lovemore Fazili and his technical director Young Chimodzi maintained their trust in both young talent and experience.

Youngster Thuso Paipi was a thorn in the fresh for Civo as terrorised the servants’ midfield and defence to deservedly earn the man-of-the-match award.

The youngster took the Bankers in front on 33 minutes, when his 25-metre drive took a slight deflection to beat Civo goalkeeper Duncan Mkandawire, who had one of his toughest afternoons.

Nelson Kangunje levelled for Civo five minutes to the break after picking on a loose ball from the box as Silver failed to deal with a corner kick by Gerald Nkungula.

After the equaliser, Civo’s coach Millias Jegwe Pofera replaced striker Vincent Nyangulu with Victor Mpinganjira.

Both sides made more changes in the second half but it was the introduction of Binwell Katinji for Mark Fodya on the part of the Bankers that paid dividend as Katinji capitalised on Civo’s poor
defending to score from close range with only three minutes to go.

Jegwe gracefully accepted defeat after the final whistle, admitting his charges were not up to the occasion: “It is not a good thing to lose against your rivals at home but I must accept we did not play
well today. Silver were the better side and deserved the victory. We will have to go back on the drawing board and rectify our mistakes before the next assignments.”

His counter-part Lovemore Fazili praised his charges for playing their lungs out from start to finish: “In our first two games, we were only playing in the first half and failing to take our chances but today, we played the whole 90 minutes and credit should go to the boys for taking instructions. This win is a major morale booster in our camp and I see a good future in this squad.”