Bankers hammer Hammers, trim gap with Wanderers to five points

Defending champions Silver Strikers finished the first round of the 2025 TNM Super League season on a high note after claiming a 2-0 win over Mzuzu City Hammers at Rumphi Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

After a barren first half, the Bankers used the first ten minutes of the second half wisely, getting two goals from substitute Emmanuel Allan and Zebron Kalima to seal the win.

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The victory was important for the Bankers as the top two sides, Mighty Wanderers and FCB Nyasa Big Bullets, both dropped points after playing draws against Civil Service United and Karonga United, respectively. This trimmed the gap between the Bankers and the leaders to five points.

The Bankers started brightly, pushing for an early goal, but the hosts were organized in the back. In the opening ten minutes, Stain Davie failed to connect with an inviting ball from Sambani. Later, George Chikooka brilliantly denied Hassan Luwembe, and Chinsisi Maonga missed a glorious chance for the Bankers.

Emmanuel Allan replaced Charles Chipala at halftime, and the change paid off. The former Moyale Barracks forward rose high to guide a Macdonald Lameck’s ball into the net in the 49th minute. Six minutes later, Zebron Kalima capitalized on another Lameck delivery to double the scores for the visitors.

Samson Olatibosan and Jeremiah Kanyika replaced Alex Msiska and James Gwayi for the hosts. Maonga made way for Felix Demakude in a Silver change, and Akeem Abioye also came in for Maxwell Funsani for the hosts. Olatibosan failed to capitalize on Chikooka’s error in the 79th minute.

Binwell Katinji came in for Davie in the 82nd minute before Kalima nearly grabbed his second goal of the day, but his attempt went wide. The Bankers’ late changes, which saw Dan Sandukira and Innocent Shema replacing Sambani and Lameck, yielded nothing as they walked away with maximum points.

Head coach for the Bankers, Peter Mgangira, said the result was good since they were playing away from home. He sees a huge advantage for his team, which played more away games in the first round.

“It has been a good journey with ups and downs, but we managed to claim points in away games, which means in the second round we will have more games at home, which is an advantage to us. But all in all, it has been tough, and I expect the second round to be tougher,” said Mgangira.

Meanwhile, head coach for the Hammers, Elias Chirambo, said his team played well but is failing to convert their chances, a problem they need to solve by beefing up the squad ahead of the second round.

“We have some players coming to join the team, most of whom are strikers, so that we can solve the problem of not scoring. But the team has been playing well in the last five games that I was in charge,” said Chirambo.

The three points were vital for the Bankers as they moved up to 30 points from 15 games, having picked up eight wins, six draws, and one defeat in the league. The Hammers remain 15th on the table with eight points from 15 games, with a record of two wins, two draws, and 11 losses after the first round.