Mupanzi tricks Ekhaya: Ambitious Cowboys meet reality check

Of all the setbacks Ekhaya FC endured during their inaugural TNM Super League season—14 defeats in total—none stung quite like the 4-2 thrashing at the hands of Creck Sporting Club. It was a brutal reality check, a harsh lesson to digest before regrouping for the 2026 campaign.

For a newly promoted side, accumulating 39 points from 29 matches is respectable. The numbers—12 wins, 3 draws, and 14 losses—represent survival, which was the club’s primary objective upon entering elite football competition. Yet for an outfit as ambitious as Ekhaya, backed by substantial financial investment, these statistics warrant closer examination.

Head coach Enos Chatama has consistently acknowledged the gulf between his side and the league’s traditional powerhouses: FCB Nyasa Big Bullets, Mighty Wanderers, and Silver Strikers. Ekhaya have positioned themselves in the chasing pack, but bridging that gap remains a formidable challenge.

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With one match remaining, Ekhaya sit seventh in the standings. A victory over relegation-threatened Mighty Tigers on December 27th could see them climb higher—but only if results elsewhere fall favorably. Civil Service United, currently fourth with 41 points, would need to lose their remaining two fixtures for Ekhaya to leapfrog them, alongside Blue Eagles and Karonga United.

Beyond league position, Ekhaya’s most tangible achievements are avoiding relegation and potentially qualifying for next year’s Airtel Top 8 Cup—though the latter depends on results involving Kamuzu Barracks, Moyale Barracks, and Dedza Dynamos in the season’s final fixtures.

The Second-Season Curse

History offers a sobering warning for ambitious clubs following impressive debut campaigns. The pattern is clear: many flourish initially, only to falter dramatically in their sophomore season.

Bangwe All Stars finished sixth in 2023 with 42 points from their maiden campaign (11 wins, 9 draws, 10 defeats). The following season brought catastrophe—relegation after a 15-point drop, finishing second from bottom with just 27 points.

Dedza Dynamos accumulated 41 points to finish ninth in their 2022 debut season. While they climbed to seventh the following year, their points tally actually declined to 38.

Chitipa United set the benchmark in 2023, becoming the first club in recent years to finish fourth in their maiden campaign with an impressive 48 points—even defeating both Big Bullets and Mighty Wanderers within seven days. Yet they survived relegation by the skin of their teeth in 2024, finishing fourth from bottom with just 29 points.

Creck Sporting Club defied expectations in 2024, finishing sixth with 42 points. This season, however, they’ve struggled to maintain that momentum, though two victories in their remaining fixtures could still match last year’s haul.

Ekhaya’s repeated declarations about becoming one of Malawi’s elite clubs are admirable, but ambition alone won’t suffice. Structural improvements and shrewd recruitment will be essential.

On their day, Ekhaya have shown glimpses of quality. Throughout the season, they never suffered four consecutive defeats—but they did endure five straight losses, a damaging spell that included defeats to Moyale Barracks, Mighty Wanderers, Silver Strikers, FCB Nyasa Big Bullets, and Creck Sporting.

The Creck defeat carries particular significance. Prior to that match, Creck had never conceded more than three goals in a Super League fixture—only Silver Strikers had managed three against them in a 3-1 first-round victory.

The match also marked a dark chapter for Ekhaya goalkeeper Elias Missi, whose career with the club ended amid match-fixing allegations. He had already attracted controversy for grabbing Bullets’ Babatunde Adepoju by the neck in a previous encounter.

Against Creck, the contest was evenly poised through the first half, featuring attractive football from both sides. Then came the collapse. What began as a clash between two ambitious clubs—and two coaches with a long-standing rivalry—descended into a one-sided affair.

Kananji gets better revenge on Chatama

Eliya Kananji, now at the helm of Creck Sporting Club, and Enos Chatama share a rivalry dating back to the early 2010s at Blantyre United. Remarkably, Kananji had never beaten Chatama in their previous encounters—including when Chatama’s Bullets Reserve team defeated Kananji’s Blue Eagles 2-1 in the 2022 FDH Bank Cup.

“It will be a different game altogether,” Chatama had declared before kickoff. “I started playing against Kananji long ago when he was at Blantyre United and I had my own team, Bangwe Madrid. He never defeated me. This is the Super League now, and Creck are good enough. They’re playing at their fortress, which is a no-go zone. We have to prepare and win.”

The confidence proved misplaced.

Ekhaya’s opening goal showcased the brand of football Chatama envisions for his team’s future—intricate passing sequences culminating in Blessings Malinda’s exquisite left-footed finish into the bottom corner. What followed was a masterclass in clinical finishing from the opposition.

Mupanzi punishes Ekhaya

Patrick Mupanzi, born in the Democratic Republic of Congo and raised in Dzaleka Refugee Camp, delivered a performance that embodied the fulfillment of dreams. The Creck striker dismantled Ekhaya single-handedly.

Ekhaya boast a squad with an average age of 26—a project oriented toward the future. But youth alone won’t suffice; experience will be crucial next season. While they’re not a poor side by any measure, they struggle to convert chances into goals. Their 34-goal tally places them fourth in the scoring charts—behind only Bullets (56), Silver Strikers (45), and Mighty Wanderers (43), and level with Blue Eagles.

Defensively, they had been relatively solid, conceding just 24 goals before the Creck match. That fixture added four more to their tally, bringing the total to 28.

Mupanzi became the first player to score a hat-trick against Ekhaya in elite league history. Compact but lethal—dangerous with his feet and devastating in the air.

The striker had been playing in the Southern Region Division One League the previous season, having never featured in the Southern Region Premier Division or National Division League. His seven goals for Creck in all competitions have announced his arrival.

Ekhaya’s lead lasted just 14 minutes before Mupanzi rose majestically to meet Jauma Edward’s delivery and restore parity. The teams traded blows evenly until the 72nd minute, when Mupanzi volleyed past the goalkeeper. Six minutes later, he completed his hat-trick with an acrobatic scissor kick. An own goal from Kesten Simbi compounded Ekhaya’s misery before Levison Mnyenyembe scored a consolation.

“He is a top striker and I believe in him,” Kananji said afterward. “We missed him in the past three games, but it’s great to have him back and scoring three goals against Ekhaya. I am very happy.”

If Ekhaya were seeking lessons, they received them in abundance.

“We should not blame anyone,” Chatama reflected philosophically. “We have to take responsibility and move this team forward. One day, losing five games in a row will be just a memory, a story we tell. These wounds will heal and become scars. Those scars will make us stronger and help us become champions.”

Kananji described the victory as vindication of his team’s hard work, particularly after conceding early.

“It’s the first time we’ve won after going behind,” he noted. “Previously, when we conceded, we struggled to fight back. But today the spirit was different. It was a must-win game for us. This is the kind of performance we lacked in the previous two matches. With this display, there is hope of finishing in the top eight if we win the remaining two fixtures.”

Ekhaya’s final assignment comes on December 27th at Mpira Stadium against Mighty Tigers. It’s an opportunity to end a difficult campaign on a positive note, to restore some pride after a punishing five-match losing streak.

For a club with grand ambitions, the lessons of this inaugural season are clear: talent and financial backing provide a foundation, but sustained success demands consistency, tactical maturity, and the wisdom that comes only from experience. Whether Ekhaya can avoid the second-season curse that has claimed so many ambitious predecessors remains to be seen.

The wounds are fresh, but as Chatama suggested, scars can indeed make you stronger—if you’re willing to learn from them.

Photos by Creck Media