Dedza suffer second defeat of the season

By Isaac Grant

Premier Bet Dedza Dynamos FC suffered their second loss of the season in the TNM Super League with a 3-1 defeat against Mighty Mukuru Wanderers at Kamuzu Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

It was a similar scenario to the team’s first loss against Civil Service United at Civo Stadium where they conceded three goals as well and the only difference is that they managed to get a goal against Mighty Mukuru Wanderers.

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Straight from a 3-0 victory against Bangwe All Stars, Premier Bet Dedza Dynamos FC were motivated enough to face a team that suffered back-to-back defeats against Silver Strikers and Mzuzu City Hammers while they were enjoying a five-game unbeaten run managing two wins and three draws.

Coach Andrew Bunya trusted the same system he used against Bangwe All Stars in a 3-5-2 formation making two changes from the previous team that started against Bangwe All Stars bringing in Victor Lungu and Marco Chiwaya for Joseph Balakasi and the injured Promise Kamwendo.

The match started with extremely attacking football from both sides and Chifuniro Mpinganjira could have given Premier Bet Dedza Dynamos FC a lead only a minute into the game but he wasted a chance that Richard Chipuwa managed to handle and two minutes later, Christopher Kumwembe headed in the opening goal of the game from a Wisdom Mpinganjira cross to give Wanderers an early lead.

After the goal, Premier Bet Dedza Dynamos FC didn’t give up but pushed hard to get an equaliser and Chifuniro Mpinganjira scored his third goal of the season coming in two games as Lameck Gamphani’s cross was firstly missed by Marco Chiwaya and Victor Lungu before finding the striker who confidently beat goalkeeper Richard Chipuwa to level the scoreline.

Both sides were then looking for what could give them maximum points by the end of the game and in the 25th minute Mighty Mukuru Wanderers had a chance to score from a direct free kick through Stanley Sanudi after Victor Lungu had fouled Wisdom Mpinganjira but goalkeeper Anthony Singini managed to kill off the pressure.

Gamphani provided another good ball inside the box in the 28th minute from a corner but Wanderers defense managed to clear the ball before Mpinganjira had another chance half-hour into the game as he was released by Victor Lungu but the resulting shot went wide and a minute later Lungu was booked for a foul on Wisdom Mpinganjira.

At 42 minutes, Wanderers replaced Kumwenda with Nyangulu after the goal scorer was injured and the first half ended 1-1.

Come the second half, both coaches made some substitutions as Limbani Phiri replaced Victor Lungu for Premier Bet Dedza Dynamos FC while Isaac Kaliati and Felix Zulu replaced Clement Nyondo and Sama Thierry Tanjong who had a bad debut for his team with very little contribution in the opening half he was given.

Isaac Kaliati just needed six minutes to bring happiness to his team as his individual brilliance resulted in Wanderers restoring their lead on 51 minutes and that goal gave more power to Wanderers as they took control of the game giving some tough time to Premier Bet Dedza Dynamos FC’s defense of Justice Chihoma, Lugano Kayira, and Frank Chikufenji.

More substitutions were made as Lameck Gamphani was replaced by Joseph Balakasi in the 58th minute and two minutes later, Kaliat was at it again as he scored Wanderer’s third goal from a corner after goalkeeper Anthony Singini failed to judge the ball.

Interim Head coach Meke Mwase brought in Francisco Madinga for Wisdom Mpinganjira as the clock was ticking 70 before Premier Bet Dedza Dynamos FC brought in Ibrahim Sadick for Ochaya and Rodwell Robert for Marco but nothing paid off as it was a victory for Wanderers.

Speaking to the media after the game, coach Andrew Bunya despite the loss, applauded his players for the fight indicating that it’s a lesson learned and they will focus on the next assignment.

“We knew it won’t be an easy game looking at where Wanderers were coming from and they were better on the midfield that is why we made some changes though it didn’t pay off,” Bunya said.

He believes the loss will bring something positive come the next game.

His counterpart, Meke Mwase was a happy man with the win saying that he started with three strikers because what they wanted was a win.

“We started well and managed to get a goal early but we lost concentration after conceding that’s why we were quick to bring in some fresh legs,” Mwase said.

The win has taken Mighty Mukuru Wanderers to 4th with 15 points and Premier Bet Dedza Dynamos FC have dropped to 9th position with 11 points.

Meanwhile, the game has grossed MK12,356,000 and each team has received MK2,249,172 just like the owners of the ground.