By McLloyd Kudzingo
TNM Super League defending champions FCB Nyasa Big Bullets hopes of defending the title suffered a heavy blow as they went down 1-nil to relegation threatened Bangwe All Stars on Thursday afternoon at Kamuzu stadium.
Clever Chikwata who was also voted man of the match scored the only goal of the match in the 71st minute in a counter-attack move after Bullets failed to penetrate Bangwe’s defence.
However, there is still a big debate on who is the real goal scorer of the goal as Chikwata’s shot was headed by James Msowoya before it crossed the line but the officiating personnel still awarded the goal to the former.
Bullets started the game very well and they got their first chance through Chawanangwa Gumbo in the 12th minute but his shot was saved by Bangwe goalkeeper Elias Missi.
Lloyd Aaron also had his chance to put the home side in front in the 23rd minute but once again Missi came to the rescue of the Bangwe-based side.
In the second half, Bangwe All Stars new coach Trevor Kajawa replaced James Tambwali and Christopher Jimu with the fresh legs of Richard Lapson and Shukuran Goba.
Bullets on the other hand brought in former Dedza Dynamos midfielder Lameck Gamphani and the Zimbabwean Ronald Chitiyo replacing Chawanangwa Gumbo and Maxwell Phodo.
Later in the game Ernest Petrol replaced Lloyd Aaron for Bullets while Bangwe took out James Msowoya for Emmanuel Lino.
In the last 20 minutes, both sides had a number of scoring opportunities but it still ended 1-nil in favour of Bangwe to the disappointment of Bullets coach Kallisto Pasuwa.
Pasuwa however said his side can still defend the title as there are still a lot of matches to be played before the end of the season.
Despite the win, Bangwe remain second from the bottom with 15 points after playing 20 games.
Bullets on the other hand are perched on 10th position with 24 points after playing 17 games.
Elsewhere, Gregory Nachipo and Samuel Chaponda were on target as Kamuzu Barracks beat Chitipa United 2-nil at Nankhaka Stadium.
