Sibale strikes twice as Karonga beat Tigers

Karonga United’s new signing Godfrey Sibale claimed his second man of the match award in just two appearances for the club, scoring twice to fire his team to a 2-1 victory over Mighty Tigers at Mulanje Park Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

Sibale, who scored on his debut last week, maintained his excellent form to help the visitors secure revenge after losing to the Kaukau Boys in the first round. The former Chatoloma ADMARC forward has now announced his arrival in the TNM Super League with three goals in two games.

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The striker opened the scoring on 27 minutes to give his team a half-time lead, then doubled the advantage on 64 minutes before Grayson Msowoya pulled one back for Tigers with his sixth goal of the season in the 90th minute.

Karonga United head coach Oscar Kaunda praised his new signing’s brilliant performances.

“He is a good signing indeed. He needs to work hard and we will try to help him learn some new things to become more perfect. He should not have a big head but remain focused so that he can do great things,” said Kaunda.

Regarding the match, Kaunda said the team worked hard to claim maximum points as they look to finish high in the league.

“We sat down and saw that last season we achieved top eight, so we set a target of finishing in the top four. These away wins help you achieve that kind of feat,” added Kaunda.

Tigers coach Leo Mpulula expressed his frustration as his team continues to play well but struggle to record victories.

“There’s no coach who can be happy to see his team not winning. It’s really painful because we are playing well but we can’t score. Today our opponents could get one chance and utilize it, so we will see how best we can fix the problem,” said Mpulula.

Tigers looked promising in the opening minutes as Grayson Msowoya and Shadreck Daniel had attempts go off target, but Sunganani Mponda did well to prevent an own goal by Wisdom Maulabo Jere on 15 minutes.

Sibale managed to beat Mponda with a 46-meter drive after the goalkeeper was caught out of position to score on 27 minutes.

At half-time, Masambelo Kalua and Philip Chavula were introduced for James Tambwali and Precious Chiudza. Tigers continued to press as Chavula and Msowoya missed their attempts before Sibale doubled the score after receiving a pass from Allen Chihana on 64 minutes.

Mpulula introduced Shukuran Afick and Martin Msewa Jr for Shadreck Daniel and Joseph Balakasi, while Sibale narrowly missed the target. Later, Yusu Adesola Abdul-Waheed, Sinto Chipole, and Winford Mwale came on for Lovemore Ngolombe, Saulos Moyo, and Chihana respectively.

Msowoya’s 90th-minute strike proved to be merely a consolation as it failed to deny Karonga victory.

The win moved Karonga back to fourth in the standings with 30 points from nine wins, three draws, and five losses, staying 10 points behind leaders FCB Nyasa Big Bullets.

Mighty Tigers remained in the relegation zone with 16 points from four wins, four draws, and nine losses.