Wanderers kept waiting for 86 minutes to cross Songwe Border to top spot

Mighty Wanderers’ journey to move from second position to first in the TNM Super League was delayed at the Border after being kept waiting before scoring two late goals in their 2-0 win over Songwe Border United at the Kamuzu Stadium on Wednesday afternoon.

The men at the Border remained united in not allowing the Nomads to cross without a border pass until Clement Nyondo came with the right papers at 86 minutes, before Sama Thierry Tanjong signed the papers for the Nomads to jump into first spot.

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The 2017 TNM Super League champions came into the match in high spirits after their 3-0 win over city rivals FCB Nyasa Big Bullets last weekend in a match that brought a major twist to the log table.

A strong start by the Nomads could not give them what they deserved as Muhammad Sulumba failed to tap in a ball from Blessings Mwalilino, before the veteran headed the ball straight at Bernard Mwangosi from a cross by Isaac Kaliati.

Sulumba sent a good ball to Mwalilino, who headed over the bar, before Mwangosi denied Blessings Singini with a fine save. The Nomads got a lot of corner kicks, but the visitors looked organized after the half-hour mark as they began to attack.

The Nomads desperately looked for a goal but kept squandering chances, making their supporters whistle for changes. Clement Nyondo, Promise Kamwendo, and Stanley Sanudi replaced Sulumba, Adam Wallace, and Mwalilino after 55 minutes, but Kaliati and Singini both missed their chances.

Bryson Kanambo replaced Festus Chikwegza in Songwe’s first change at 74 minutes, then Sama Thierry Tanjong came on for Rajab Nyirenda three minutes later. Singini sent a brilliant ball to Nyondo, who headed home at 86 minutes, and at the stroke of full time, Sama got his first goal of the season to seal the win.

This means that the last five goals scored by the Nomads have come from substitutes, as Adam Wallace and Blessings Singini shared the goals in the Blantyre Derby, both as substitutes. Wanderers remain unbeaten after 21 fixtures in the league.

Head coach for the Nomads, Bob Mpinganjira, was happy to see his team fighting until the end despite missing a lot of chances in the first half.

“We will keep on working hard. This game has shown us that things will be tough in the league, but still we need to keep winning games in order to achieve what we want—the championship—so we will keep on working hard so that we should be doing better,” said Mpinganjira.

Meanwhile, head coach for Songwe Border United, Edwin Kaonga, hailed his boys for their brilliant display of football in the game and refused to throw in the towel in the league after their 19th loss of the season.

“We cannot say that we are out or we will survive, but we are still trying hard and fighting in the remaining games. Things are not okay, but we are showing the nation that we don’t just lose; we have quality in our team, so I’m happy with today’s performance against Wanderers,” said Kaonga.

The Nomads have leapfrogged FCB Nyasa Big Bullets to the top of the league as they now have 51 points from 15 wins and 6 draws, having scored 33 goals and conceded just 8.

On the other hand, Songwe Border United remain bottom of the standings with just 5 points from 22 games after winning just once, drawing twice, and losing 19 times. They have scored 8 goals in the league and conceded 54 in their debut season in the elite league.