Mitundu, Lions on Fire as Jenda Falls Again in NBS NDL

Mitundu Baptist and Red Lions will head into Week 6 of the NBS Bank National Division League occupying the top two spots after both teams secured crucial home wins over the weekend.

Mitundu Baptist bounced back from their 1-0 defeat to Baka City in Week 4 with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Chilumba Barracks at Civo Stadium on Saturday. Raheem Mtondera sealed the win with an added-time penalty goal.

“We are happy because we won today; it was a tough match, but considering how teams are performing in the league, we needed a win, so I must be happy,” said Audrow Makonyola, head coach for Mitundu Baptist.

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Chilumba Barracks head coach, Nelson Chirwa, accepted the outcome. “It’s a painful result as we conceded in the dying minutes. We played well, and they also played well, but an infringement we made led to a penalty which they scored.”

Meanwhile, Red Lions continued their perfect run in the league with a fourth consecutive win, beating FOMO FC at Balaka Stadium on Saturday. Dan Nyambose and Ferguson Mtondo scored in the second half to secure the victory.

Malumbo Mkandawire, head coach for the Lions, was delighted with the result. “It was a tough game as FOMO came with a strong approach that gave us a hard time, but in the second half, we came hard and got those goals. It’s good that we have won.”

FOMO FC’s head coach, Jimmy Zakazaka, acknowledged his team’s poor performance. “We did not play well today; it’s not how we planned to play in the match, that’s why we lost today.”

At the Mchinji Community Ground, Namitete Zitha and Baka City played to a goalless draw, with the Karonga-based Baka City remaining unbeaten in the league on Saturday.

Richard Fosiko, head coach for the hosts, described the game as tough. “We tried to create chances so that we could get a goal, but Baka was good too, so a draw is a fair result, but we wanted to win as we were home.”

Baka City’s head coach, Victor Mwakhwawa, was also satisfied. “It’s good that we are avoiding defeats away from home, so today was also tough, but a point is equally good for us.”

In Blantyre, a derby between Ndirande Stars and Bangwe All Stars ended in a 1-3 victory for Bangwe, who returned to winning ways after two successive losses. Madalitso Safuli netted a brace, with Dyson Moffat scoring the other for Bangwe, while Madalitso Geoffrey got a consolation goal for the hosts.

“I’m happy with the win; we have greatly improved as we focused much on scoring in preparation for this game, and we have gotten the goals. We could have even gotten more than three,” said Bangwe’s head coach, Isaac Jomo Osman.

Ndirande Stars head coach, Lloyd Nkhwazi, conceded the defeat. “We made a lot of mistakes, and we were not sharp today. Congratulations to Bangwe.”

On Sunday, Jenda United remained pointless in the league after suffering their fifth straight loss in Ntaja United’s 1-0 win at Balaka Stadium, thanks to Chrispin Mankhamba’s 84th-minute strike.

Ntaja’s head coach, Chisomo Kamlanje, noted the game’s difficulty. “It was a very tough match because our friends came hard on us with the aim of winning as they do not have points, but it’s good that we got a chance and scored.”

Jenda’s head coach, Uchizi Nkunika, stated his boys tried hard but failed to secure a result. “We started well today as we created numerous chances so that we could find goals, but we missed them, and our friend got one and stunned us. It is painful.”

At the Mchinji Community Centre Ground on Sunday, Mchinji Villa scored a late goal to snatch a home point after playing a 1-1 draw against Chintheche United. Jimmy Kalanje put the visitors ahead in the 6th minute, but Amos Mahilas leveled the scores with six minutes left.

Eliya Phiri, head coach for the hosts, expressed frustration that his team failed to utilize chances. “I don’t know what is happening because the same boys are scoring goals during training, but during the game, it’s different, so we need to work on that until we get a result.”

The visitors’ head coach, Isaac Kapyepye, attributed the draw to a red card. “We started brightly into the first half, and we got that goal, but in the second half, we failed to defend after we got that red card.

Following Week 5, Mitundu Baptist still leads the table with 12 points from five games, with Red Lions in second place, also with 12 points. Ntaja United and Namitete Zitha are third and fourth respectively, both with 10 points.

Bangwe All Stars and Baka City are in fifth and sixth positions, each with 9 points. Chintheche has 8 points at 7th, and FOMO FC is 8th with 6 points.

Mchinji Villa leads the teams without a win, positioned 9th with 3 points. Ndirande Stars and Chilumba Barracks both have 2 points, occupying 10th and 11th place, while Jenda United anchors the table with no points from five matches.

Week 5 produced only 10 goals, with Bangwe All Stars being the highest-scoring team with three goals. Raheem Mtondera still leads the golden boot race with 7 goals and has the most player of the match awards, bagging four in five matches.