Red Lions have strengthened their hopes of returning to the elite league after beating Ntaja United in a hard-fought 1-0 victory to open a 10-point gap in the NBS Bank National Division League at the Balaka Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
Humphreys Minandi’s 35th-minute strike was the difference in the match as the soldiers remain unbeaten in the second round, which has helped them create a huge gap over other teams in the league.
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Head coach for Red Lions, Malumbo Mkandawire, said that it was a tough game but a win is a good result for them.
“It is always tough when playing Ntaja United because we know each other, but if we have managed to win this one then it is a good result for us as it has given us another view of where we are going,” said Mkandawire.
On his part, head coach for Ntaja United, Mavuto Lungu, said his team played well in the game but just failed to get a goal, plus some decisions from the referee had an impact on the result.
“These referees need to be right when making decisions. We played well today and I can see that we are building a good team. Today we could have done better. Even Red Lions knows that they have just escaped from this game,” said Lungu.
The win took Red Lions up to 39 points from 13 wins, three draws and two losses to stay 10 points above Baka City (with a game in hand) while Ntaja United remain 8th on the table with 20 points from five wins, five draws and seven defeats in the league.
Ndirande Stars Climb to Fifth with Dominant Display
In Blantyre, Ndirande Stars moved up to fifth in the standings following a heroic 2-0 win over FOMO FC in a match played at the Mpira Stadium.
Justice Zulu netted a first-half brace that fired Stars to their 6th win of the season and moved them just four points behind the promotion places in the league.
Assistant coach for Ndirande Stars, Robert Daudi, hailed his boys for the brilliant performance in the game and said it is their wish to be promoted into the elite league.
“We are looking for more wins so that we can catch the teams that are above us. It is our wish to be promoted into the Super League and it is our prayer to achieve that. Of course we have won, but we had several problems that we need to look into before our next game so that we can do better,” said Daudi.
Meanwhile, Jimmy Zakazaka, who is FOMO head coach, easily conceded the defeat by saying they played a bad game.
“We started well in the opening 20 minutes, but after we conceded the first goal we were completely dismantled and honestly we played nothing that could have won the game,” said Zakazaka.
Stars are now on 25 points from six wins, seven draws and four defeats in 5th position in the league, while FOMO are 7th with 23 points from seven wins, two draws and eight losses.
Mchinji Villa End Winless Run with Convincing Victory
In Mchinji, Mchinji Villa recorded their first win in the second round of the NDL after beating Bangwe All Stars 3-1 at the Mchinji Community Centre ground.
The team recorded three losses and two draws in the round prior to Sunday’s win, as their last victory came on 23 August 2025. But Juwao Davie netted a hat-trick (two from the spot) to take his tally to 10 goals and also drive Villa near the relegation zone exit, while Sunny Banda got a consolation goal for the visitors.
Assistant coach for Mchinji Villa, Chifuniro Chimkokomo, was happy with the win and believes that the team will record more wins after getting the first one in the second round.
“It is the result that we needed most because we are not in a better place in the league, so the players played well today and I believe that we will get more wins after this one,” said Chimkokomo.
On his part, assistant coach for Bangwe All Stars, Davie Matemba, conceded the defeat, saying their small mistakes led to conceding easy goals.
“We cannot say the pitch had an impact on our play because we have been on pitches like this, but we conceded an easy goal. Then we could have equalised but because we were not careful, we conceded a penalty which killed us,” said Matemba.
The win took the team up to 10th in the table with 18 points from four wins, six draws and seven losses, two points below safety, while Bangwe All Stars dropped down to 6th in the standings with 24 points from seven wins, three draws and seven losses.
Mtondera Double Powers Mitundu to Crucial Win
At the Maliri ground in Lilongwe, Raheem Mtondera scored twice to take his tally to 17 goals in the league and help Mitundu Baptist move a point behind the promotion places following a comfortable 3-0 win over Chintheche United.
Moses Nyirenda opened the scoring in the 45th minute before Mtondera bagged a second-half brace to put Chintheche to the sword as they missed a chance to move out of the relegation zone.
Head coach Audlow Makonyola was happy with the win at the new home where he said it is a place where they will get more wins as the condition of the ground is very good.
“They beat us at their home so we reminded the boys of the pain of that defeat and they responded well. We will do what it takes to be promoted into the Super League and looking at the games against our competitors, we will play them at home which gives us confidence that we will achieve the promotion,” said Makonyola.
On his part, head coach for Chintheche United, Macmillan Banda, said his team’s defensive errors plus misfiring striking force cost them the game, along with questionable officiating.
“We conceded on the stroke of half-time which affected our performance in the second half where our central defense made errors, and also we have been training our strikers but they cannot get goals. The referees also had a hand in it because the referee made different decisions to his assistants, which is not fair,” said Banda.
The win took Mitundu up to 28 points from nine wins, one draw and seven losses to remain fourth in the standings, while Chintheche dropped down to 11th with 18 points from four wins, six draws and seven defeats in the league.
On Saturday, Namitete Zitha levelled their points with Baka City after beating Chilumba Barracks 2-0 thanks to Levison Gopani’s brace. They have 29 points in third place, while Chilumba are 9th with 19 points.
One fixture is left to complete match week 17 as Baka City will look to trim the gap on Red Lions when they play Jenda United.
Current Top Five Standings:
- Red Lions – 39 points
- Baka City – 29 points (game in hand)
- Namitete Zitha – 29 points
- Mitundu Baptist – 28 points
- Ndirande Stars – 25 points
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