The survival battle in the TNM Super League has narrowed down to three teams as the top-flight heads towards conclusion.
Despite the odds being stacked against them, Bangwe All Stars, Fomo FC and Chitipa United remain optimistic of staying afloat.
With the fate of table-anchors Baka City FC of Karonga already sealed, only one of the three teams will avoid the chop by the time the league winds up this Saturday.
Blantyre-based Bangwe, who are a step above the relegation zone, have 27 points from 29 matches, Fomo FC of Mulanje are third from the bottom with 25 points from 28 matches while Chitipa are second from the bottom with 23 points from 28 matches.
Bangwe All Stars coach Trevor Kajawa said although they only have a game left against Creck Sporting Club, he remains optimistic of surviving the chop.
“We are currently above the relegation zone and we are not losing hope, but the remaining fixture is a must-win and we’ll do everything possible to get a positive result,” he said.
His Fomo FC counterpart Elvis Kafoteka, whose side earned promotion at the start of the season, said the advantage they have is that the ball is in their court.
Said the former Flames vice-capatain: “We are not looking at others to do us a favour, we are fighting our own battle. Our fate is in our own hands.
“Losing to [FCB Nyasa] Nyasa Bullets [on Saturday] has put us in a tight situation. We have a mountain to climb.
“But we are not putting pressure on ourselves, we win both games [against Silver and Karonga United], we will be safe. We’ll take a game at a time.”
Chitipa United gaffer Christopher Nyambose, whose side had an impressive run last season, in which they finished fourth, said they are not losing sleep over their situation.
He said: “Our surivival chances are very high. We are not banking on other teams to do the job for us, we’ll do it ourselves.
“We are looking at winning our both matches against Moyale Barracks and Baka City, so that we take our tally to 29 points and I am absolutely certain that we will be safe.”
Nyambose said they are looking at the fixture against Baka as the most tricky one.
He said: “Tricky in the sense that their fate is already known and they have nothing to lose. So, they will just be looking for msamilo [another team to be relegated alongside them.
“As for Moyale, there is not much for them to gain as they are already in the top eight.”
Football analyst Charles Nyirenda said described the situation as tricky for all the three teams.
He said: “Fomo will have to bank on the Lord’s grace to survive because one of their two remaining matches is against the newly crowned champions Silver who may not ease up yet as they seek to finish the season unbeaten.
“I don’t know who Bangwe will meet in their final match because potentially Chitipa could surpass them should they win their last two games.
“Unfortunately, for these three, they are finding it hard to win matches at this late hour. Depending on which opponents remain, any two of the three can accompany Baka to the second-tier leagues.”
Of the three teams that were promoted at the start of the season, only Creck Sporting Club have survived relegation.
