Eagles back in action

The Area 30 based Cops, Blue Eagles will return into action this weekend after a two-week as they face Red Lions at Nankhaka ground on Sunday.

The Eagles have been exempted from local football as some of their players like Captain Schumacker Kuwali, Micium Mhone, Stuart Mbunge, Gilbert Chirwa, and Maxwell Salambula just to mention afew were in Tanzania where they were playing in the Southern African Regional Police Chiefs Cooperation Organization (SARPICCO) games.

The Assistant coach for the Club, Christopher Sibale was the Head coach for the team in Tanzania where they failed to reclaim the Champions as they did in 2015 under the mentorship of Declerk Msakakuona.

The Super League of Malawi decided to keep Blue Eagles away from the league fixtures as one way of ensuring that they play while all their players are available for selection.

Before flying to Tanzania, Blue Eagles were holding the position two with 40 points from 19 games, 12 behind the leaders Nyasa Big Bullets who had played one game more.

Meanwhile, for the first time this season, Blue Eagles who have been a changed and improved team have slipped off to third place as Kamuzu Barracks supplant them with 43 points from 22 games.

The Policemen are welcoming a team that they hammered 4-1 in the first round, a game that Blue Eagles player, Schumacker Kuwali vowed that they would win this season’s tnm Super League Championship.

”𝐁𝐥𝐮𝐞 𝐄𝐚𝐠𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐍𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐬’

The win for the Cops is a must if they are to give Nyasa Big Bullets competition for the Championship though seems very far from closing the 12-point gap.

Apart from chasing for the Championship, teams like Kamuzu Barracks, Mighty Wanderers are also looking to be battling for the second place knowing that League title is out of their reach.

Assistant coach for the Eagles, Christopher Sibale said scooping three points is a must for his charges.

He added that the players are putting efforts and doing everything they can to win the game looking at the lig table.

“The break has an impact but I can say it’s not too much. As we were in Tanzania, the guys were playing, so we can’t say that they have lost fitness. We were playing like super League games and it will again be to be our advantage as we managed to expose other teams there in Tanzania and even other players who were here were also training.

“We expect the players to combine and then pick up from their. This game is equally important because we are looking three points after staying for a quite period of time without playing, some ther teams have gone ahead of us, so it will be very important for us to collect maximum points,” said Sibale.

He added that Blue Eagles are aware that Red Lions will come flat-out and stage a revenge after that embarrassing defeat in the first round.

𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐦 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐝

While the fact requires no microscope to magnify the difference in terms of form between the two sides as of late, when the two teams meet, its always a grudge game.

In their last 26 meetings, the Policemen have had an upper hand over their brothers, Soldiers from Zomba recording 10 victories while Red Lions have 6 wins with 10 games ending in Stalemate.

Red Lions last beat Blue Eagles on November 25, 2017 in the tnm Super League at Nankhaka ground with Chimwemwe Chidati and Moses Namkumba on target while the prime Micium Mhone had a consolation goal for the Cops.

Three of their last outings have ended in goalless stalemate, with only goals seen in the recent game that Osward Maonga netted a belter, Schumacker Kuwali with a stunner, while Gaddie Chirwa grabbed a brace with Royal Bokosi scoring the consolation goal for the Soldiers at Balaka Stadium on April 20, 2022.

The Eagles have won their 2 of their last 3 outings in the second round while Red Lions have only two wins in their last 8 games in the second round, conceding 11 goals, scoring 10.

They are one of the teams that started well this season after recording the famous 1-0 victory over Silver Strikers at Balaka Stadium courtesy of Royal Bokosi’s strike but they have failed to be consistent.

They are now combatting for their survival in the elite league having collected only 25 points from 23 games holding number 11 on the log table.