Wanderers beat Lions to maintain top spot: Malawi TNM Super League
Mighty Be Forward Wanderers FC on Sunday 9 July 2017 continued to shine and maintained their clean sheet in the elite TNM Super League as they came from behind to beat Zomba based military side Red Lions 2-1 in a high tempered and and excessive physical match played at the Balaka Stadium.
McPeter Makwale gave Red Lions supporters false hopes after he opened the score sheet with just seven minutes into the first half.
Two minutes later, Jabulani Linje nearly handed the Nomads an equaliser but his final shot after beating two defenders went straight into the palms of Red Lions goalkeeper Jacob Kaunda.
But Yamikani Chester who was probably man of the match handed the Nomads an equaliser in the 28th minute.
He tapped the ball over a Red Lions defender before enrishing a powerful long range shot which left Lions goal custodian with no chance.
Referee of the day John Phiri had a very busy afternoon as both sides turned the game into a more physical battle.
First half ended 1-1.
In the second half, Wanderers skipper Josephy Kamwendo converted from the spot kick to give the Nomads a 2-1 lead after the referee awarded them a penalty.
This followed a deliberate off the ball foul on striker Precious Msosa by a Red Lions defender.
During the incident, Msosa lost a tooth and was left with a cut on his lower part of his mouth.
Midway into the second half, Kamwendo could have increased the lead after the referee awarded the Nomads another penalty after a Red Lions defender fall over the ball and in the process handled it in the penalty area.
Lions goal keeper this time around perfectly judged Kamwendo’s poorly taken penalty.
The soldiers were reduced to 10 men after Innocent Mwamlima man handled Kamwendo following an exchange of words.
Both sides made some changes in the secod half.
The first were the Nomads who rested injured Msosa and introduced Jimmy Zakazaka who gave the Lions defence some tough time with his nice runs.
Later Red Lions rested the scorer of their only goal of the match Makwale as well as Kumbukani Mwambene.
Despite adding 10 minutes at the end of regular 90 minutes, it was too late for Lions to come back into the match.
Speaking in a post-match interview, Wanderers Head Coach Yasin Osman described the game as ‘very difficult’.
“It was a very difficult game and we knew it will be a more physical and high tempered game because our opponents wanted to win to go top of the log table” said Osman.
There was no immdiate comment from any Red Lions official as they all rushed into the dress room after the referee had blown the final whistle.
With the win, the Nomads remain on the driving seat with 19 points from seven games.
They have so far registered six wins and a single draw.
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