Silver Strikers bag 3 points in Mzuzu
Silver Strikers are still in contention for the TNM Super League championship after beating Moyale Barracks by a goal to nil on Sunday at Mzuzu Stadium.
Brilliant exchange of passes characterized Silver’s play throughout the first half.
Young Chimodzi Junior, Levison Maganizo andTimothy Chitedze displayed beautiful attacking moves, supplying balls upfront for Victor Limbani and Binwell Katinji who failed to shoot past the Moyale goalie Simeon Harawa.
Moyale Barracks too, enjoyed their game as their towering midfielder Boyboy Chima and their captain Timothy Nyirenda combined very well in the middle of the park with the pacy Zondiwe Munthali on the right flank but Wiseman Kamanga and Dan Katunga’s partnership upfront seemed not working.
It was nil nil after the first 45 minutes.
Three minutes into the second half, a clever move by the bankers resulted in Lovemore Jere for Moyale bringing down Binwell Katinji in the 18 metre box, a tackle which was not offensive, but while lying down in the box himself, handled the ball. Youthful referee Newton Nyirenda, who did a very good job on the day, did not hesitate to point to the deadly spot.
Binwell Katinji stepped up to convert the spot kick for Silver Strikers.
Assistant Coach Charles Kamanga was forced to make two early changes in the half when he pulled out Dan Katunga for Khuda Muyaba while Lovemore Mitengo went in for Lesman Singini. Later in the 84th minute, Zondiwe Munthali had to pave way for Brown Magaga.
Silver, on the other hand, made a single change in the 62nd minute when Coach Lovemore Fazili rested the scorer Binwell Katinji and introduced fresh legs of Green Harawa.
After 90 minutes, it was Katinji’s goal from the spot kick that separated the two sides allowing Silver Strikers to bag maximum three points.
“It was important for us to win this game. I told the players to work hard for the entire 90 minutes. What this means is that we are still contesting for the championship. We have three games to wind up the season and we will try our level best to win those games so that we see where we will be on the log,” explained Lovemore Fazili to Nyasa Times after the game.
Moyale’s Assistant Coach Charles Kamanga said his charges did not play as a team.
“I can agree with you that we indeed missed the services of Gastin Simkonda but had we played as a unit, we could do better even without him. We are remaining with one home fixture and two away fixtures. We are still hoping to do well in these games and possibly finish in the top six,” added Kamanga.
The win takes Silver Strikers to position three with 50 points, two less than the current leaders Kamuzu Barracks and just a point behind defending champions Nyasa Big Bullets who are currently occupying the second position on the log with 51 points.
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