For the umpteenth time, Mighty Wandeers have failed to lay their hands on the K250 million FDH Bank Cup as they lost 5-4 to Silver Strikers yesterday after a dramatic post-match penalty shootout at Bingu National Stadium in Lilongwe.
This time round, it was a case of being so near yet so far as the Blantyre-based Nomads who gave away their 24th minute lead in the 75th minute after conceding a penalty due to pressure.
For winning the fifth edition of the FDH Bank Cup, Silver took home K45 million while Wanderers got K20 million as runners-up.
After playing out one-all draw in regulation time, the first set of penalties saw the two teams tied four-all to pave the way for sudden death which seemed to be headed for a listless conclusion until defender Nickson Mwase converted his spot-kick to send Silver fans into a frenzy.
The toast of the afternoon could have been Wanderers’ youthful goalkeeper Dalitso Khungwa, who to his credit, kept out four penalties in spectacular fashion, but in the end could not be rewarded for his heroics.
Isaac Kaliyati, Blessings Singini, Clement Nyondo and Emmanuel Nyirenda converted the first set of penalties for the Nomads while Stanley Sanudi missed his.
On the other hand, Emmanuel Allan’s kick was saved by Khungwa while Maxwell Paipi, Innocent Shema, Binwell Katinji and Chinsisi Maonga converted theirs.
Then came the sudden death drama as both teams took turns in failing to convert the spot-kicks until Mwase separated the two teams.
In regulation time, Wanderers took the lead in the 24th minute when their player-of-the moment Blessings Singini swung upfield to head home an Isaac Kaliyati well-curled corner kick.
Silver twice came close to levelling the scores with Andrew Joseph’s header being denied by the post in the first half added time.
Then Uchizi Vunga shot over the bar in the 66th minute from close range as desperation for an equaliser took a toll.
Nine minutes later, the Bankers’ faithful breathed a sigh of relief when their team was awarded a penalty by referee Easter Zimba following a handball by Nomads’ stand-in captain Felx Zulu in an aerial duel.
And as the turnout held its breath, Paipi stepped up to coolly beat Khungwa with a low shot to the delight of the sky blue and white-clad fans.
It was game on, but both teams held on until the dreaded penalty shootout that drove the fans through a bewildering gut of emotions.
Wanderers coach Bob Mpinganjira accepted defet, saying: “We tried, but penalties can go either way.
“From the start, it was clear that we had some shortfalls, we were out of sorts.”
His Silver counterpart Peter ‘Shoes’ Mgangira was on cloud nine.
He said: “I am very happy to have won the trophy. Looking at our technical panel of young coaches without much experience, many doubted our capabilities, but we were up to the task.
“We thank God for this. It was a tough and competitive game. We have won, but that doesn’t mean Wanderers iare not a good team.
“We had many chances starting from the first half and could have easily won it within 90 minutes. I am happy that we have won something for our supporters.”
