Moyale falter again

It was not a question of which team was clinical upfront, but the one that was less wasteful. This is what happened when Blantyre United beat Moyale Barracks 2-1 at the Kamuzu Stadium on Friday.

Both teams seemed to have forgotten their scoring boots at home and looked as if they were desperately competing for the league’s Miss of the Season Award.

That Blantyre United were wasteful was no sheer figment of imagination. How else would you describe a game in which even defender Wachimwa Sadiki scored probably his first goal in his career?

The rejected Tigers and Wanderers player, Sadiki, scored on the 45th minute after striker Sunday Kamuyamba had given Blantyre a second-minute lead in this boring contest played in an empty stadium.

Gastin Simkonda claimed Moyale’s consolation in the 87th minute, but his 10th league goal proved too little, too late.

Moyale were near the relegation zone on 12th position before facing Azam Tigers yesterday at the same venue.

Something must be terribly wrong with Moyale who have never been the same since losing the 2011 Standard Bank Knockout Cup final in Lilongwe a fortnight ago.

As we went to press yesterday, the toothless Kaning’ina Lions were taking on Tigers, who defeated Wanderers 2-1 on Friday.

Nothing was guaranteed for Moyale. And there is no convincing explanation coming from coach Nicholas Mhango over the dramatic loss of form.

“I know my players. If I say something, they will be disturbed and they will not perform tomorrow,” was all Mhango could say in a post-match interview.

As for his Blantyre United counterpart, Elia Kananji, the explanation that his charges struggled to play their beautiful game due to the recent break to pave the way for national team commitments seemed justifiable.

“Moyale is one of the teams that our players respect, and to some extent, fear so much that they did not play their usual game in the first half,” said Kananji whose team temporarily moved to second on 38 points from 22 games.