Mpinganjira inspires Nomads to victory over “merciful” Songwe

Wisdom Mpinganjira was the star of the show, scoring one goal and assisting another as Mighty Wanderers secured a vital three points on the road, defeating a resilient Songwe Border United 2-0 at Karonga Stadium on Wednesday afternoon. The win means the Nomads return from Karonga with a total of four points from their northern trip.

The first half saw the Nomads frustrated by Songwe’s compact defense, which effectively closed down all attacking gaps despite Wanderers’ dominance in possession. The teams went into the break with a barren scoreline. However, Mpinganjira’s man-of-the-match performance in the second half proved to be the difference, as he first found the net himself before setting up Blessings Mwalilino for the decisive second goal.

Wanderers started with intent, searching for an early goal. Mwalilino fired wide in the 14th minute after being set up by Mpinganjira, while Promise Kamwendo missed two subsequent attempts. Songwe’s first real chance came when Lewa Nkosi guided his shot wide; he was later replaced by Josiah Duwa in the 42nd minute.

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After a relatively slow start to the second half, Wanderers finally broke the deadlock in the 55th minute when Wisdom Mpinganjira received a ball from Promise Kamwendo and calmly finished. Ten minutes later, Adam Wallace and Isaac Kaliati came on to replace Gaddie Chirwa and Kamwendo, respectively.

Mpinganjira then turned provider, setting up Mwalilino for the Nomads’ second goal. Songwe made changes, bringing on Clement Chikwata and Wilson Lugwa for Godfrey Tika and Chimwemwe Ibrahim, but these substitutions yielded no results as the Nomads held on for a comfortable win.

Nomads’ head coach, Bob Mpinganjira, expressed his satisfaction with collecting maximum points from a challenging encounter. “It was a good game, but it was tough. Songwe gave us a hard time, but we won, and I’m happy for that,” said Mpinganjira.

Meanwhile, Christopher Nyambose, head coach for the rookies Songwe, was pleased with his players’ performance despite the loss. “A good performance from my boys but a bad result. However, we were good today, and if we continue playing like this in the next games, I think we will collect many points. But we have to accept that we have lost today to a better team,” Nyambose commented.

The result sees Mighty Wanderers remain in second place in the TNM Super League with 26 points from 10 games, having won 8 and drawn 2. Songwe Border United remain at the bottom of the table with just one point from 11 games, having drawn once and lost 10 matches.