FCB Nyasa Big Bullets have closed the gap to log leaders Mighty Wanderers with a hard-fought 2-0 victory over Mzuzu City Hammers at Rumphi Stadium on Thursday afternoon. A second-half header from Chikumbutso Salima and a late clincher by Hassan Kajoke sealed the win for the visitors in a match that had its fair share of drama, intensity, and missed opportunities.
The first half was evenly contested, with both sides enjoying spells of possession but struggling to find the cutting edge in the final third. Bullets showed early intent, winning a corner in the second minute, while Hammers nearly stunned the visitors in the 15th minute through a point-blank header from Hassan Luwembe, only for goalkeeper Innocent Nyasulu to pull off a brilliant save.
Bullets had the ball in the net in the 34th minute, but the celebrations were cut short after the referee blew for an infringement in the box. The half saw tempers flare with yellow cards shown to Hammers’ Eric Kaonga and captain Rashid Yassin, as the hosts displayed aggression in defence. Despite a late push from Hammers before the break, both sides went into halftime deadlocked at 0-0.
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Peter Mponda made a triple substitution at the restart, bringing on Hassan Kajoke, Maxwel Phodo Gasten, and Henry Chiwaya for Babatunde Adepoju, Lameck Gamphani, and WonganiLungu in a bid to inject more urgency. Hammers also introduced Alex Msiska for Yassin Rashid.
The second half burst into life when Hammers were awarded a penalty in the 60th minute following a handball. However, Nyasulu came to Bullets’ rescue once again, diving to his right to deny Samson Olatubosun from the spot.
That moment proved decisive as momentum swung towards the visitors. In the 78th minute, Andrew Jovinala delivered a well-weighted free kick into the box which was met by Salima with a powerful header, breaking the deadlock. Kajoke nodded in a corner kick from Salima to double Bullets’ lead and effectively put the tie beyond doubt in the stoppage time.
Goalkeeper Innocent Nyasulu, whose heroics kept Bullets in the game early on and preserved their lead, was deservedly named Man of the Match.
With the win, Bullets remain on the second position in the league with 30 points out of possible 39 having won 10 games and lost 3. This means they trail to Wanderers with just 3 points from the same number of games. Wanderers are the only unbeaten side in the league thus far.
Wanderers might now be feeling the pressure from the fast-approaching Bullets on the title race. History has it that Bullets have the ability to catch up on the log leaders and once they get to the top, it is always an uphill task for other teams to dislodge them.
The defeat to Hammers roots them deep into the relegation as they sit on position 15, just one position away from anchoring the log. They have only managed to collect 8 points from their 13 games. They have lost nine games, won two, and drawn two.
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