Such is the luxury for Silver Strikers that they only need a point from this afternoon’s TNM Super League showdown against Mighty Mukuru Wanderers to seal the title at Kamuzu Stadium in Blantyre.
But the Bankers coach Peter ‘Mjojo’ Mponda says they are expecting the Nomads to come with all their guns blazing.
Silver are within touching distance of the title they last won 11 years ago in what has now been reduced to a two-horse race.
very tough match
The Reserve Bank of Malawi-sponsored outfit sits pretty at the pinnacle of the flagship league with 61 points, seven points adrift of the Lali Lubani Road outfit with three games to go apiece.
Mponda said he expects the Nomads “to play the game of their lives”.
He said: “A win could boost their flickering hopes. So, they will come hard on us.
“It will definitely be the most difficult game for us this season, a real test of our unbeaten run.
“We need to approach it with strong character and a sense of maturity. They have a very good coach in Bob [Mpinganjira] and we need to be on our toes. Otherwise, wrapping it up with a game to spare will be good for our efforts this season.”
Binwell Katinji, Uchizi Vunga, Chimwemwe Idana, Stein Davie, Charles Chipala, Zebron Kalima and Chinsisi Maonga are the usual suspects that could get it done and send the sky blue side of town into party mood this afternoon.
Mpinganjira said while it looks a tall order for his team, they will fight for every inch of the way.
He said; “We cannot be crying over spilt mild. The odds are stacked against us, but that doesn’t mean we should give up now.
“We’ll fight to the end and see where it gets us to.”
Should the bid for the title fail, the Nomads, who last won the title in 2017, still have to fight for the runners-up slot with their third-placed rivals FCB Nyasa Bullets.
Bob’s son Wisdom, the league’s leading scorer Isaac ‘Tcheya’ Kaliyati, last season’s golden boot winner Clement Nyondo, captain Lawrence Chaziya and revived and remoulden Francisco Madinga are the men the Nomads could look up to.
Silver won the first round encounter 2-0 at Silver Stadium in Lilongwe where the Nomads’ president and board chairperson Dr Thomson Mpinganjira made a rare appearance, but left discontented as his team suffered its first league loss.
The Bankers also booted out Wanderers from the Airtel Top 8, leading to the latter’s immediate-past coach Meck Mwase abandoning ship as the going got tough.
The Nomads, therefore, have an axe to grind with the Area 47-based side.
