A very rich ending to 2016 TNM Super League

It can never come so exciting than having the TNM Super League season decided right at the end. This Saturday, the champions will be decided from two matches — second-placed defending champions Nyasa Big Bullets against 3^rd-placed Blue Eagles at Kamuzu Stadium and the leaders Kamuzu Barracks against 12^th-placed Dwangwa United.

All eyes will be on these games and plenty people are predicting that Kamuzu Barracks have won the league because they are up against a weaker opponent. Others are contemplating Dwangwa United might decide to play a lousy game just to gift the championship to Kamuzu Barracks.

Serious accusations that Dwangwa need to be think about very seriously because if they shall lose, people’s assertions shall be vindicated. Dwangwa have nothing to lose in this game because they survived relegation and even if they win they will remain at 12^th.

Bullets and KB can afford to lose or draw. KB has 58 points while Bullets have 57. If the soldiers lose without scoring and Bullets draw, the People’s Team will become champions because of goal difference. KB has goal difference of 23 while Bullets have 25.

At the start of the second round, Bullets were number six while KB were 8^th. At this juncture KB have won 18 games, drew four and lost seven while Bullets made things difficult for themselves because they drew 12 times with winning 15 games and losing just twice.

KB were very tenacious in their campaign since the start of the second round because they never drew again and lost just two games while Bullets had seven draws and two losses at the same period. Bullets were stumbling because they made five more draws.

At that period, both Bullets and KB had six wins and they went on to gather 12 more. If KB go on to win their first ever title just in few attempts since they joined the top flight league, they deserve it for their coherency.

If the title eludes the defending champions Bullets, they too deserve a pat on the back because it has not been easy for them because at one point, they were idle while other teams were active with their assignments.

This was the period that the team were on bye after contributing a number of their top players to the national team for the last away match against Zimbabwe in the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations from where they immediately travelled to Namibia for the Cosafa Cup.

Bullets, together with their rivals Mighty Wanderers, were inactive for over a month and when their players returned, it was a catch up chase which was not easy.

Wanderers were 8^th at the start of the second round and at this period, with one game remaining against Mzuni FC at Mzuzu Stadium on Saturday, they are on position 6.

If they win they might move to 5^th but that depends if 5^th-placed Mafco lose to 4^th-placed Silver Strikers at Silver Stadium on Saturday.

Bullets fans have the consolation of having won the Presidential Cup while those for Wanderers are in delight for winning the Carlsberg Cup as well as the Fam FISD Challenge.

And the Nyerere camp are on the good footing of clinching the two-team Luso TV Bonanza in which they are leading 3-0 in the first leg at Kamuzu Stadium on Monday whose second leg is in Lilongwe next week.

The sad part about relegation is that it involves one of the oldest teams in the Super League, Civo United.

At the end of the first round, Civo were 11^th from four wins, five draws and seven losses but they have ended on position 15. From 14 games of the second round, they only managed one win, drew four more times and lost eight times.

It’s such a disastrous performance considering this is an elite team that was a force to reckon with through the many years they have been in the Super League in which they won in 1987.

They play against 8^th-placed Azam Tigers at their home Civo Stadium in which they shall be aiming at signing off with a win to salvage their battered pride.

To Civo team management, do not despair but go back to the drawing board to see where you went wrong. You have one strong asset for you to fight your way back and that is the stadium and a good sponsor from government.

Rebuild again through the Chipiku League. Nurture more young talent and form another formidable side. Yes Chipiku League is not a walkover but with excellent planning, chances of returning are very high.

And mark my words, the media’s attention shall be on you all the way and that shall be good for you in terms of visibility and morale if you shall be doing well.

All the best Civo United.

 

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