Ekhaya, Bullets was game decided by gulf in squad quality but even tactics

The sweltering Malawian afternoon of Wednesday, July 2, 2025, bore witness to a titanic clash in the TNM Super League, as Ekhaya FC, the audacious newcomers, faced the unassailable juggernaut FCB Nyasa Big Bullets.

For Ekhaya, this wasn’t merely a fixture; it was a crucible of truth, a litmus test against the undisputed hegemon of Malawian football. The verdict was stark: it was Ekhaya FC’s Reality Check, a match where the Bullets exposed a veritable gulf in quality.

Two promising coaches, Peter Mponda and Enos Chatama faced off. They share common understanding of the game, they are possession-based coaches but they were separated by the quality of squad. Chatama wanted to minimise Bullets’ penetration, Mponda wanted his wingers to do the damage.

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Ekhaya FC had burst onto the scene like a meteor across the firmament, an ambitious phoenix rising from the astute strategic maneuvers of its new leadership.

Their initial blistering campaign – six victories, two stalemates, and a mere brace of defeats from ten inaugural skirmishes – had defied the typical purgatorial struggles of elite league debutants.

Unlike the ill-fated sojourns of Bangwe All Stars and Creck Sporting Club, whose promising starts often evaporated amidst economic headwinds and dubious managerial gambits, Ekhaya seemed imbued with a different destiny.

Head Coach Enos Chatama, a man who had forged Bullets’ dynasty for eight arduous years, had prophesied his new squadron’s inevitable march to greatness. This sentiment was amplified by the presence of his former Bullets confederates, assistant coach Fundi Akidu and goalkeeper trainer Vincent Gona, forming a formidable technical phalanx.

On the verdant pitch, the narrative was even more poignant: a substantial contingent of players, meticulously nurtured within the Bullets Reserve pipeline, now donned the Ekhaya livery, leading to their anointment as the “second Bullets.”

Seven of these prodigal sons faced their former patrons, injecting an electrifying tension into the gladiatorial arena. The pre-match crescendo of anticipation was deafening. Many pundits had prognosticated a tightly contested affair, given Ekhaya’s impressive early impetus and the intimate tactical knowledge their coaching staff and players possessed regarding the Bullets’ schematic architecture.

However, those privileged to witness the symphony of play unfold swiftly discerned that the deceptive scoreline – a slender 1-0 victory for Bullets – belied a gargantuan disparity between the two sides.

From the first whistle, Bullets asserted their unquestionable dominion with an immediate and overt display of early pressure, particularly capitalizing on set-piece opportunities.

They swiftly garnered a free-kick opportunity and subsequently a corner kick, relentlessly subjecting Ekhaya’s defensive cordon to unrelenting duress. Their ball rotation was a mesmerizing ballet, a symphony of incisive passes that kept Ekhaya perpetually in a retrograde posture.

“Mentally, technically, Bullets were way off the ceiling,” one astute observer remarked, perfectly encapsulating the Bullets’ irrefutable superiority.
Ekhaya’s tactical mandate, as Enos Chatama later conceded, was unequivocally clear:

“We never wanted much from this game, a draw would have been a better result.” Their paramount objective was to stifle Bullets’ attacking élan, to constrict the spatial parameters, and to exploit any fleeting opportunity for counter-attacking thrusts.

Defensively, they executed this with commendable discipline, maintaining a compact low block and densely congesting their penalty area to deny the prolific Bullets’ offensive spearheads, Babatunde Adepoju and Hassan Kajoke, any viable operational real estate.

This defensive resoluteness was evident throughout, as they were effective in curtailing progression and preventing high-percentage scoring opportunities.

Despite Bullets’ incessant siege, Ekhaya’s defensive fortitude was admirable. They constrained the champions to a mere trio of shots on target and a septet off, a testament to their unyielding resilience. Yet, their offensive aspirations remained largely unfulfilled.

Bullets, suffered from their own profligacy in front of goal, failing to convert a clear header and another shot, which kept the scoreline ostensibly competitive for a significant period. On two occasions in the first half, prime scoring opportunities fell to the left-wing-back, Henry Chiwaya, but these golden chances were squandered – a familiar lament for a player who, despite flashes of individual brilliance and dangerous crossing deliveries, struggles with clinical finishing.

The tenuous deadlock was ultimately shattered in the 56th minute by a moment of singular brilliance that underscored the fundamental divergence between the two aggregations. It was Henry Chiwaya, with a touch of ironic twist, who was felled just outside the Ekhaya box. Stepping up, the former Nyambadwe United player delivered a cross of exquisite precision, finding the commanding aerial presence of Babatunde Adepoju.

The Nigerian striker, commemorating his centennial appearance for Bullets, powerfully nodded home the game’s solitary goal from a masterfully executed free-kick routine. This decisive moment underscored Bullets’ superior efficacy in converting dead-ball situations, a pivotal component of their pragmatic and highly effective tactical paradigm.

Babatunde’s impact, extending beyond his goal-scoring prowess to his relentless pressing of Ekhaya’s central defenders, proved to be the linchpin of Bullets’ dominance.

“Bullets won the game because they have Babatunde Adepoju, Ekhaya lost because they didn’t have Babatunde Adepoju,” was the concise, yet profoundly accurate, post-match forensic analysis.

Having seized the advantage, Bullets expertly shifted their tactical emphasis to defensive solidity, successfully nullifying Ekhaya’s attenuated attacking forays and securing the clean sheet.

Chatama candidly acknowledged the gulf in qualitative attributes, particularly evident in Ekhaya’s offensive execution. “We wanted to catch them on counter but we lacked quality in midfield and in the attacking third. We need to mix quality, experience and exposure.”

Indeed, Bullets’ midfield lynchpin, Lloyd Aaron Banega, functioned as an impregnable shield, his ball-winning acumen effectively stymieing Ekhaya’s nascent attempts to launch rapid transitional attacks. The overall rhythm and flow of the match unequivocally demonstrated Bullets’ absolute control over the tempo of play, expertly disrupting Ekhaya’s build-up sequences and funneling them into less dangerous zones.

Even in defeat, a quiet resolve emanated from the Ekhaya camp. Chatama remained unwavering, emphasizing that this loss was not the definitive descriptor of their progress.

“Whatever result that comes, it will not describe Ekhaya. We are en route to greatness, we are building a team and heading towards the right direction… Our strength will be described at the end of the season, if we stay, then we are a stronger team.”

The encounter against FCB Nyasa Big Bullets served as an indispensable reality check for Ekhaya FC. While their defensive tenacity was commendable, the game unambiguously exposed the stark qualitative disparity, particularly in offensive refinement and the capacity for clinical conversion, when juxtaposed against the league’s serial champions.

It underscored the significant developmental trajectory that still lies ahead. Yet, their palpable ambition and the foundational strengths they demonstrably possess suggest that while they may not yet be “thousands of miles away” from the Bullets, their odyssey to true greatness, as envisaged by Coach Chatama, has truly commenced, armed with invaluable lessons gleaned from confronting the very pinnacle of their domestic competition.