Two shots batter ingwina: Bullets go three points clear after beating Karonga

The afternoon sun beat down on Karonga Stadium as FCB Nyasa Big Bullets walked onto the pitch carrying the weight of an entire season on their shoulders. This wasn’t just another game. This was about redemption, about reclaiming what they had surrendered to Silver Strikers last season, about proving that the People’s Team could handle the pressure when it mattered most.

They left with a 2-0 victory, but more importantly, they left with something precious: a three-point cushion over Mighty Wanderers and the growing belief that the trophy might just find its way.

Twenty-six games into the season, Bullets have collected 59 points. The mathematics are simple yet daunting: win all four remaining games and pray that Wanderers stumble in at least one of their five fixtures. It’s a calculation that manager Peter Mponda and his players have surely run through their minds countless times.

MORE NEWS FROM WAMPIRA

The backdrop to Saturday’s clash made the stakes even clearer. Bullets arrived in Karonga wounded from their loss to Creck Sporting, a defeat that had raised uncomfortable questions. Could they handle the pressure? Would the title slip through their fingers again? The ghosts of last season’s surrender lingered in the humid northern air.

Mponda’s team selection spoke volumes about the moment. Richard Chimbamba, absent for several games, was recalled between the posts, replacing the “tired” Innocent Nyasulu. It was a decision that would prove inspired—Chimbamba delivered Bullets’ 16th clean sheet of the season, a testament to the defensive solidity that championship teams are built upon.

For thirty minutes, Karonga Stadium witnessed a tactical stalemate. Both teams probed, both teams pressed, both teams earned early corners, but neither could find the key to unlock the other’s defense. The tension was palpable, the kind that makes supporters shift nervously in their seats.

Then came the moment that would tilt the afternoon in Bullets’ favor.

Babatunde Adepoju, one half of Bullets’ devastating strike partnership that has terrorized defenses for 26 goals this season, threaded a pass that split Karonga’s backline. Wongani Lungu didn’t panic. He didn’t rush. He simply directed the ball into the net with the kind of calm precision that separates good players from match-winners.

It was football distilled to its purest form—one perfect pass, one composed finish, one goal that changed everything.

Karonga’s response was immediate. Coach brought on Robert Luhanga for Saulos Moyo, a substitution born of desperation and hope. What followed was a fascinating tactical chess match that would define the second half.

Peter Mponda recognized what many in the stadium could see: the Karonga Stadium surface was demanding something different from his team. The prolific duo of Babatunde Adepoju and Chikumbutso Salima, usually so lethal, were being nullified by the conditions and Karonga’s determined defending.

Just after the break, Mponda made his move. Off came both strikers. On came Ephraim Kondowe and Hassan Kajoke—players who could adapt to the pitch, who could bring fresh legs and new problems for the tiring Karonga defenders.

It was the kind of bold decision that defines a manager’s season. Keep faith in your star strikers or trust your tactical instincts? Mponda chose the latter, and the gamble would pay spectacular dividends.

But first, Karonga had their say.

The Fight That Nearly Was

Robert Luhanga transformed the game. The substitute brought an urgency, a spark, a belief that Karonga could still salvage something from the afternoon. He terrorized Bullets’ defense, creating chances, pressing high, and almost—agonizingly almost—finding the equalizer.

Patrick Phiri rifled a free-kick over the bar. Kondowe, on the other end, whistled his effort wide. Luhanga’s shot missed by inches. The game had turned into exactly what Karonga needed: chaos, uncertainty, hope.

Then came Phiri’s moment. A chance that could have changed everything. But Richard Chimbamba, vindicated in his recall, produced a save that reminded everyone why Mponda had brought him back. It was the kind of stop that championships are built on—not spectacular, but crucial, absolutely crucial.

For Karonga United, fighting for a top-four finish, battling through a difficult stretch that had seen them lose three of their previous four matches, the dream was slipping away. This was their tenth defeat of the season, split evenly between home heartbreaks and away disappointments.

Football can be cruel. After defending resolutely, after creating chances, after bringing the game to life through Luhanga’s enterprise, Karonga’s hopes died in the 86th minute through the simplest of errors.

Goalkeeper McLean Mwale and defender Innocent Chitete miscommunicated in a way that youth coaches warn against, a “kindergarten mistake” as these moments are brutally labeled. Ephraim Kondowe, vindicated in his introduction, needed no invitation. He pounced, he finished, he sealed it.

The goal was Mponda’s tactical substitution bearing fruit. The goal was Kondowe’s reading of the game paying off. The goal was Bullets’ championship mentality showing through—taking every chance, capitalizing on every mistake, showing no mercy.

For Karonga, it was a dagger. For Bullets, it was insurance, confirmation, and three points closer to redemption.

When the final whistle echoed and Bullets celebrated another step toward reclaiming their crown, the calculations began anew. Wednesday brings Moyale Barracks in what will be their final game away from Blantyre. Then come Tigers, Ekhaya, and Mzuzu City Hammers—four opponents standing between Bullets and vindication.

Karonga United, meanwhile, face their own reckoning. Mighty Wanderers away looms next, followed by home fixtures against Silver Strikers, Civil Service United, and Chitipa United. Their top-four aspirations hang by a thread.

But Saturday belonged to Bullets. It belonged to Lungu’s composure and Kondowe’s opportunism. It belonged to Mponda’s tactical acumen and Chimbamba’s crucial save. It belonged to a team carrying the hopes of their supporters, the burden of last season’s disappointment, and the growing belief that this time—this season—redemption is within reach.

Fifty-nine points from twenty-six games. Four matches remaining. Three points clear. The mathematics are simple, but the journey is anything but. In football, as in life, the final steps are often the hardest. For FCB Nyasa Big Bullets, those steps begin Wednesday in Moyale, and they won’t stop until the trophy comes home—or the dream dies trying.