Nyasa Big Bullets at the weekend won the 2022 TNM Super League first round with two games to spare.
The People’s Team top position finish was confirmed on Saturday when second-placed Blue Eagles were held to a one-all draw by Ekwendeni Hammers.
They went into yesterday’s match against Kamuzu Barracks (KB) at Civo Stadium in Lilongwe with a spring in their foot as there was an unassailable five-point gap with the Malawi Police Service side.
Following yesterday’s 1-0 win against KB, Bullets now have 38 points from 14 matches, eight points ahead of Eagles.
Their chase for a fourth successive title and 16th overall since the top-flight league inception in 1986, appears to be nicely on the boil.
But the champions’ head coach Kallisto Pasuwa, whose side is yet to taste defeat this season, played down their remarkable run.
He said: “We are just almost half way through and there is still a long way to go.
“Also, the process of rebuilding the team is still on-going and we are not there yet.”
Football analyst Charles Nyirenda said as per statistics, Bullets appear destined to retain the title.
He said: “The fact that other teams close to them are not consistent and are dropping points favours Bullets.
“Ordinarily, you would have expected them to falter after releasing a number of their key players and bringing in youngsters, but they have not looked back.
“It gives an impression that we are under threat of having a three-tier set-up with Bullets pulling away from the rest and being way up at the summit of the domestic top-flight and the situation is not healthy for the growth of our game.”
Bullets’ final first round opponents will be rookies Sable Farming.
In yesterday’s match, lanky forward Babatunde Adepoju scored the lone goal in the 74th minute with a first time stylish finish after being put through by Gomezgani Chirwa to take his tally to nine.
In a post-match interview, Pasuwa said the game was difficult because KB were too physical.
“We need to work on build-ups so that we have more possession,” he said.
On the other hand, KB coach Charles Kamanga rued missed chances.
He said: “We created several chances, which we failed to ultilise. We were not composed in the final third.”
Despite the loss, the Malawi Defence Force side remains fifth with 20 points from 13 matches.
In other games, rookies Sable Farming held Karonga United to a one-all draw while Dedza Dynamos beat Ekwendeni Hammers 3-2.
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