Bullets players are hungry for more success says Mponda

By Antony Isaiah Jr:…..

Nyasa Big Bullets assistant coach, Peter Mponda says the players of the team are hungry for more success ahead of their much-anticipated final game against their cross-town rivals, Mighty Mukuru Wanderers on Sunday.

Thousands of football fans are expected to throng in the Bingu National Stadium to witness the last game of the season as the Airtel Top-8 Cup final calls for attendance with two biggest teams facing off.

The People’s team have already won The 2022 TNM Super League and FDH Bank Cup while Mighty Mukuru Wanderers have been in drought of trophies for four years but Mponda believes that his charges are still hungry for more success.

“I believe that the [Bullets] players want more despite already winning the league and the FDH Cup, they are hungry for more success,” said Mponda. “They will not relax just because they have had more victories over their rivals and it’s very good for us to defend this Cup so that we make history [by finishing with a treble]”.

The former Flames Captain added that in a Derby game, form of the team does not matter and he expects to have a tough game against their neighbours.

“The games between Bullets and Wanderers have no favourite and it doesn’t matter who has won who or who is in top form. It’s how one team handles the important 90 minutes and capitalizes on the flaws of their opponents,”added Mponda.

With two trophies already in their custody, Bullets are just one match away from completing a treble.

Mponda says this will have a positive impact on the players, especially on how to handle pressure.

“If I say that we don’t have pressure then we will be lying because every job has its pressure, but it’s how we handle it. We managed to beat them at the same venue convincingly and we know that they will come hard on us, but we are also ready because we want to finish the season on a very high note.

“We feel we have an obligation to give an early Christmas present to our fans who have been very supportive throughout the campaign when others had ruled us out due to the rebuilding exercise we undertook earlier this year, so finishing the season with another trophy will surely reward our fans,” explained the Coach.

This is the first Cup final between the two sides since their last meeting in 2017 when Nyasa Big Bullets beat Mighty Mukuru Wanderers on penalties to win the Carlsberg Cup at Bingu National Stadium.

For the past years, they met twice in the semifinals of the Airtel Top-8 Cup [in 2018 and 2021 as Nyasa Big Bullets won 2-1 and 4-1 respectively] and once in the FDH Bank Cup last season and Bullets won 4-0.

Mponda explained, “Form doesn’t matter. We were on top of them in that game, but this is a different game. If we plan well and approach them the way we did in September, it will be another good day for us. But remember they have a new coach in the name of Mark Harrison, who has won all of the five matches he has been in charge of, so we anticipate a very tough match against an opposition that has only this opportunity to end their trophy drought.”