Upsets continued in the Zamadolo Airtel Top 8 quarterfinal second leg yesterday as Karonga United thrashed Silver Stadium 3-0 at Karonga Stadium to progress to the semi-finals with a 3-2 aggregate win.
In yesterday’s other encounter, Mighty Wanderers made the last-four grade on 3-1 aggregate after settling for a one-all draw against Creck Sporting Club at Aubrey Dimba Stadium in Mchinji.
Karonga and Wanderers have joined Ekhaya FC and Blue Eagles FC, who booted out four-time champions FCB Nyasa Bullets and Civil Service United, respectively, the previous day.
their win. | Courtesy of Karonga United
At Karonga Stadium, Silver got into the game with a spring in their step, carrying the quarter-final first leg 2-0 cushion.
However, their mission of stepping closer to winning tournament for the second time, after the inaugural trophy in 2017, went up in smoke as Karonga scored three second-half goals.
Lennox Kiwambe was the main architect of Silver’s demolition with a brace as he struck in the 61st and 83rd minutes. No wonder he was named Player of the Match. Godfrey Sibale also had his name on the score sheet in the 68th minute.
“This is a great victory for us and I thank the boys for putting up a gallant fight. We are happy to have revived our hope of winning this competition,” said Karonga United assistant coach Christopher Chinkwita in a post-match interview.
But Silver coach Peter Mgangira blamed their defeat on alleged poor officiation.
“The referee has played a big role for Karonga to win this game. Most of his decisions were against us. This was not a difficult game and I am not worried because I know the referee played a part,” he said.
At Aubrey Dimba Stadium, Wanderers also had a two-goal advantage before the match and they had to survive a scare from Creck Sporting, who drew first blood as early as the 14th minute through Ramadhan Mtafu.
They had to dig deep to restore parity in the 55th minute when their Cameroonian striker Sama Thierry Tanjong rolled in a bicycle kick goal from inside the box.
“This was one of our toughest matches in this competition and we are delighted to have sailed through to the semis,” said Wanderers coach Bob Mpinganjira.
