Bullets beat their reserve side to win FDH Bank Cup
By Antony Isaiah Jr:……
……..Classy’ Willard brings Balance to the team
Frank Willard was the star for Nyasa Big Bullets Senior team as they put three over their Reserve side to be crowned the Champions for the 2022 FDH Bank Cup at Kamuzu stadium on Sunday afternoon.
Silver Strikers were the first team to win the Cup last year after beating both Blantyre based teams before cruising past Ekwendeni Hammers in the finals at Bingu National Stadium.
A journey that started with a 3-1 win over Sable, before 2-0 win over Chitipa, 4-3 win penalties over Moyale, 4-0 win over Wanderers comes to an end with an in-house battle between Enos Chatama and Kalisto Pasuwa.
It was not an easy game to thrive for Willard as Enos Chatama has a team which is full of ball players, especially, in the engine room.
Lyton Chinong’one, Felix Demakude were deployed as the twin midfielders with the help of Chrispin Mapemba while Bullets dropped Patrick Mwaungulu from the right forward to the Number 10 to support Chimwemwe Idana and Frank Willard.
Experience had to come into play for Bullets as the young lads cancelled Babatunde Adepoju’s early strike through Happy Mphepo.
The Nigerian forward put the Senior team in front after 10 minutes as he tapped in Gomezgani Chirwa’s goal-bound ball but he saw his strike being jettisoned just before half-time.
Playing an attacking game saw Nyasa Big Bullets leaving a lot of gaps at the back that Enos Chatama’s boys capitalised on counter-pressing.
But with the energetic and intelligent Frank Willard in the midfield, the defence was covered and Reserve had to penetrate through their flanks.
Babatunde nearly extended the lead as Lyton Chinong’one lost possession of the ball in the penalty box but the pressure from Aroan Chilipa and Happy Mphepo forced the towering striker to miss the target with some inches before Patrick Mwaungulu rifled over the bar after Chatama’s defence got paralysed.
Against the run of play, Nyasa Big Bullets Reserve broke on counter-attack and they won a free-kick some meters away from Mkungula’s posts. Emmanuel Savieli swung it and Bullets cleared it on to the right foot or Happy Mphepo who rifled it into roof of the net to level the scores in the 44th minute.
Pasuwa had to make changes at half-time as he brought in an all-time running midfielder, Enerst Petro and the talented left forward, Stanley Billiati for Patrick Mwaungulu and Lanjesi Nkhoma.
The coming of Ernest Petro gave Willard the support that he was lacking and Bullets Senior started enjoying the proceedings.
Enos Chatama instructed his boys to sit back and catch their brothers on counter-attacks but the presence of Petro and Willard cut off their plans.
Bullets Senior as a Super League team were not meant to be stretched; there isnβt supposed to be space. Rather, they were supposed to be tight and tense, decided by a yard generated by a glimmer of attacking brilliance or a momentary lapse of defensive concentration.
At first, Reserve, with an extra man in the centre, dominated β Chinong’one, Demakude, Mapemba picked their way around Idana and Frank. Pasuwa redressed that at half-time, withdrawing Mwaungulu for Petro and switching to a pure three-man midfield. Suddenly it was Senior who had the man advantage in the middle and the theatre of action moved 20 yards towards the Reserve goal.
The 90-minute standing Enos Chatama took an action as he introduced MacRay Chiwaya for Chimwemwe Yasin in the 62nd minute.
Seven Players were involved in Bullets’ second goal. Chimwemwe Idana, Ernest Petro, Frank Willard, Gomezgani Chirwa, Anthony Mfune, Kesten Simbi had good exchange of passes.
Gomezgani Chirwa beat one man before releasing Chimwemwe Idana who rifled into the net fabulously to separate men from boys after 66 minutes.
Anthony Mfune scored the third goal after connecting home Gomezgani Chirwa’s delivery from the right flank, beating Rahaman John who was manning the posts.
Babatunde Adepoju was withdrawn for Hassan Kajoke and the rest was a dancing time.
Enos Chatama had confidence to break Nyasa Big Bullets’ 33-game- unbeaten record after playing at the artificial turf for five years without losing in regulation time.
Red Lions were the only team to beat the Junior people’s team at Kamuzu Stadium, with Nyasa Big Bullets Senior team, Moyale Barracks, and Blue Eagles needed post-match penalties to go through the next round of the Cup games.
Yamikani Mologeni missed his penalty last season when Enos Chatama and Kalisto Pasuwa met in the round of 16 of the same competition, but this is the different team as almost 12 players were expelled.
Before the game, Kalisto Pasuwa admitted that in that game, Chatama’s side outclassed his boys but it was the matter of age differences.
“You saw that game [last season], they dominated in most of the areas, we were second on the ball most of the times and they were very quick. I think last time, we had most of the guys who were above 27, but now we have an average age of [23] which can fare very well with them [youngsters]. Last time, we had some of the boys who were playing for that reserve and they were promoted to the senior side and now they have them again when they are on the other side of it,” said Pasuwa.
Frank Willard is one of the players who are playing for the senior team for the first time. He has formed a formidable midfield-trio with Chimwemwe Idana and Ernest Petro.
His presence allows Chimwemwe Idana and Petro to penetrate through opposition defence with their silky touches.
They forced the Junior people’s team to sit back in their own half, and the pitch looked very small for Willard who was covering side to side of the midfield.
They had been missed this kind of midfielder since the departure of their natural number 6 Chimango Kaira, Fodya and Kabitchi were being used as the holder in the midfield to fill the void in the first round, but at last, they have their man.
It was a game that needed to be won in the midfield.
It had been a game of stratagems and counter-stratagems, plans made and then remade, two coaches [Pasuwa and Chatama] trying to control the space on the pitch with the space in their heads. But ultimately this is also a contact sport, a thing of guts and loins, of inches and millimetres, of who can win the grapple and who can summon the courage to leap highest when everything is on the line, but with Willard, it was Pasuwa who made it right.
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The Young talented left forward, Chikumbutso Salima was silenced by the pacey full-back, Gomezgani Chirwa in a game that Reserve settled for counter-attacks.
Apart from Frank Willard named the man of the match, Gome was also the award contender after registering three assists to his name.
His Excellency forced Salima to switch from left to right to find spaces and score as he was chasing for the golden Boot award.
Scoring three goals in two games put Salima just a goal behind Babatunde Adepoju going into the game but the Nigerian forward’s strike rubbed off the hope for the young man to place his hands on the top goal-scorer accolade.
