….Eagles 1-2 Moyale
By Edwin Mbewe
LILONGWE-(MaraviPost)-Moyale Barracks, The Lions of Kaning’ina came from a 1-0 deficit to defeat 10-men Blue Eagles FC 2-1 at Nankhaka Stadium in the capital, Lilongwe.
Played on a muddy pitch following the rains that hit Area 30 before the match kicked off, both teams failed to display good football as the ball could easily stop and get stuck in the mud, hence players opted for aerial balls.
The visitors were aggressive when attacking in the first half, playing more corner kicks and free kicks than the hosts.
Despite their dominance, they couldn’t find the back of the net.
In the third minute, Micium Mhone won a free kick close to the 18-yard box, but Maxwell Gustavo’s effort went straight into the palms of goalkeeper Olyce Nkhwazi.
Moyale replied quickly as Clever Kalambo delivered a clever pass to Lameck Mithi, who miscued it and the ball went wide for a goal kick to the home side in the 8th minute.
The Lions piled on the pressure and got their first corner kick in the 11th minute. Kalambo took a thunderous shot from the byline with the intention of passing it to Nadrick Nyirenda.
Masamba charged out and parried the ball away to safety for a corner kick. Kalambo took the corner, but it went straight into the palms of Masamba.
In the 24th minute, Clever Kalambo terrorized Eagles’ defense as he took a shot at goal, but the ball hit Nadrick Nyirenda and bounced back in a bizarre situation. The Eagles survived the scare.
In the 33rd minute, Eagles conceded another corner kick as Mdoka floated the ball inside and it deflected off Gustavo before zooming out into touch.
Kalambo took the corner kick, but Masamba parried it to Ganizani James, who released John Banda on the far right.
Banda controlled it and sent a neat pass to Laurent Banda in the box, whose shot went off target.
Micium Mhone received a yellow card for a reckless challenge on Chisomo Chiwanda in the 38th minute. No goals were registered before referee Easter Zimba blew for halftime.
Eagles started the second half on a high note. The home side were awarded a penalty following a handball in the box by Innocent Botoman in the 48th minute. Ganizani James stood firmly behind the ball before converting it into the net, beating Olyce Nkhwazi in goal to take a 1-0 lead.
Moyale Barracks were then everywhere in Eagles’ half as they searched for an equalizer. Nadrick Nyirenda, Charles Nkhoma and Clever Kalambo troubled Eagles as they dominated proceedings. During this period, the visitors played two corner kicks in succession, which were both defended by Eagles.
The Cops made their first change in the 65th minute as Pius Saka replaced John Banda.
Eagles’ scorer, Ganizani James, was shown a straight red card for a foul on Nadrick Nyirenda, who was attacking the home side’s goal. A free kick was awarded close to the 18-yard box.
Charles Nkhoma took the free kick and the ball hit the upright. Walusungu Mdoka met the rebound and scored to restore parity in the 73rd minute, making it 1-1.
To add power to his squad, head coach Pritchard Mwansa made changes as Chifundo Makawa came on for Walusungu Mdoka. In the 84th minute, Charles Nkhoma received a yellow card for a dangerous foul on Pius Saka.
In the 87th minute, Moyale’s Makawa was caught offside as he headed in a Charles Nkhoma pass. Moments later, Moyale Barracks scored through Lameck Mithi, who connected with Clever Kalambo’s neat pass, and soon after, the match ended.
Moyale’s Clever Kalambo was later voted player of the match.
In a post-match interview, Moyale Barracks head coach Pritchard Mwansa described the victory as sweet, being away from home.
“I’m very happy that we have won the match. Though the ground was slippery, the boys gave it their all. After noting the condition of the pitch, we told our boys to play more in attack than defense,” said Mwansa.
Blue Eagles FC head coach Deklerk Msakakuona said it was a good game despite the loss.
“Playing on a waterlogged pitch was tough for the boys. We got a goal and failed to defend it. Our counterparts came to equalize and scored the winning one when we were one man down. We have five games before winding up the season. I believe we will catch up and move up the ladder,” Msakakuona said.
With the win, Moyale Barracks moved to 11th position with 30 points from 23 games.
Blue Eagles FC maintained 7th position despite the defeat. The team has 35 points from 25 games.
The team’s next assignment is away to Karonga against Songwe Border, who suffered a 3-0 defeat to Dedza Dynamos at Karonga Stadium.
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