Baka City on Wednesday secured the TNM Super League return after a season in the inaugural second-tier NBS Bank National Division League (NDL) following a 2-0 home victory over Ndirande Stars at Karonga Stadium.
The Clever Boys have become the second team from the NDL to earn the top league slot after the Zomba-based Red Lions.
Baka coach Victor Mwakhwawa expressed delight with their victory and hailed his charges for securing elite football promotion.
match: Ndau. I Courtesy of
FAM
“This was a very important game in our campaign and I am happy that the boys put up a gallant fight despite playing under pressure. It feels good to return to elite football,” he said.
The NDL is expected to contribute top-three teams to the elite league but Lions and Baka have already sealed the top-two slots in the 12-team league with points that cannot be accumulated by any of the teams from position four and below.
Lions top the table with insurmountable 43 points from 20 games, a tally that has won them the NDL title and Super League return with two games to play while Baka are second with 39 points with a game remaining.
Lilongwe-based sides Mitundu Baptist and Namitete Zitha and Mulanje-based Fomo FC are fighting for the remaining Super League slot. Mitundu are third with 35 points, Namitete fourth with 32 points and Fomo fifth with 30 points. Each has two games remaining on their fixtures.
On Wednesday, two first half goals by Joseph Mwambungu and man of the match Hastings Ndau proved to be the magic wand for Baka to beat Ndirande Stars and earn Super League promotion. Mwabungu scored in the 38th minute before Ndau sealed the victory at the stroke of half-time break.
Ndirande Stars assistant coach Robert Daudi, whose team’s promotion bid has now gone up in smoke after getting stuck to sixth place with 29 points from 21 matches, attributed their defeat to a hostile environment in Karonga.
“We met bad people in Karonga. They denied us freedom to train yesterday [Tuesday] and, when we played the match today, it was the referees that turned against us with poor officiation. It was very difficult for us to win the game,” he said.
Baka now need a victory in their last fixture against leaders and hosts Red Lions to seal a second-place finish ahead of third-positioned Mitundu.
