Bullets dominance continues

When the 2023 season kicked off in March, FCB Nyasa Bullets coach Kallisto Pasuwa was skeptic about his team’s prospects following the departure of some key players such as Chimwemwe Idana who joined Tanzania’s Mbeya City Council FC and Babatunde Adepoju who joined South African second-tier league side Venda Academy.

Bullets’ rivals Mighty Mukuru Wanderers were the busiest during the pre-season transfer window. They brought on board Gaddie Chirwa from Blue Eagles, Karonga United’s Mphatso Kamanga, Christopher Kumwembe from Civil Service United, Tigers’ Emmanuel Nyirenda, former Jordan-based defender Lawrence Chaziya and were later boosted by the return of former midfielder Francisco Madinga from Botswana.

Silver also made some good signings, including Idana, who was loaned to the Bankers from Mbeya and later signed a permanent deal.

While the other teams spent big on the transfer market, Bullets went for low-profile transfers, signing Maxwell Gastin Phodo, who was released by Silver, Chawanangwa Gumbo from Ekwendeni Hammers as well as three foreign players, Kenyan defenders Clyde Senaji and Collins Odhiambo Okumu, as well as Nigerian forward Chinedu Philip Okafor .

Yet Bullets are today on the verge of sweeping all silverware on the land.

So far, Bullets have a treble. They defended the TNM Super League for the fifth consecutive time, won the FHD Bank Cup and were crowned inaugural champions of the newly-introduced Castel Challenge Cup at the weekend.

They are now chasing a quadruple as they face Malawi Defence Force (MDF) outfit Mafco in Airtel Top 8 final.

But how did this happen when most of football pundits ruled them out?

Silver, having acquired Idana on loan from Mbeya, were unbeaten for 11 weeks and only lost to Wanderers in July.

Ravaged by injuries, Bullets were inconsistent as they dropped points, especially when playing away.

In the first round’s six away games, they managed just nine points out of a possible 18 after drawing five and losing once to Chitipa United.

But Pasuwa did not lose heart as he told the media that his youthful side needed time to gel.

Indeed, Pasuwa’s youthful squad started grinding results and closing the gap between them and Silver.

Bullets eventually won the first round as they topped the table with 30 points whereas Silver were second with 29 points.

Meanwhile, Chitipa United under McDonald Mtetemera emerged as the surprise package of the season.

They finished third a point ahead of Wanderers after a tie on 29 points with Silver Strikers.

Chitipa beat both Bullets and Wanderers to register nine wins, two draws and four losses.

The second round was a mixed bag for all clubs, but Bullets, remained steady.

By November, they had a chance to wrap up the title campaign with plenty of games to spare.

With six games to wrap up the season, Bullets only needed three wins to defend the title.

But draws against Wanderers, Red Lions, Blue Eagles and a loss to Dedza Dynamos derailed their campaign.

Tied on points with Silver and Wanderers also breathing down their neck, it meant the title had to go to the wire with two games remaining against Karonga United and the Bankers.

The People’s Team did not leave anything to chance as they beat Karonga Untied in a match that all but decided the title.

Bullets now with 69 points, had to avoid a defeat against Silver who were on 67 points, since a draw would be enough to defend the title.

Silver on the other hand needed to win with four goals and avoid conceding to win the title on goal difference.

The league title decider ended yet again in one-all stalemate to confirm Bullets’ fifth consecutive title for Pasuwa and a record 17th for the People’s Team.