Mighty Mukuru Wanderers yesterday moved two steps up to second position on the TNM Super League log table following their 3-0 victory over Civil Service (Civo) United at Kamuzu Stadium in Blantyre.
On the other hand, as the Nomads were celebrating their second straight win under the tutelage of interim coach Meck Mwase, their arch-rivals FCB Nyasa Bullets continued to sing blues as they were held to a one-all draw by rookies Creck Sporting Club at Civo Stadium in Lilongwe.
During the Kamuzu Stadium match, the toast of the afternoon for the Lali Lubani Road outfit was striker Christopher Kumwembe who showed no mercy for his former team by claiming a hat-trick.
The burly forward drew first blood in the second minute of added time of the first half when he swung up-field to head home Isaac Kaliyati’s cross.
He doubled the lead four minutes into the second half when he capitalised on a defensive error.
From then on, the Lilongwe-based Civil Servants had no answer to the Nomads, who passed the ball around with remarkable ease to the delight of their fans. At one point, they stringed almost 15 straight passes.
Kumwembe was not done yet as he claimed a hat-trick in the 71st minute after a move involving Kaliyati and Stanley Sanudi ended up with the latter curling the ball into the box and the lanky forward did the rest to perfection with a fine header.
The Nomads now have 18 points from 10 matches. They are tied on points with Kamuzu Barracks (KB) of Lilongwe, who have a game in hand as they face Baka City at Karonga Stadium this afternoon.
Silver Strikers still sit pretty at the summit of the 16-team league with a seven-point lead and they face Mighty Waka Waka Tigers at Kamuzu Stadium this afternoon.
In an interview after the match, Nomads coach Mwase hailed his charges for their fighting spirit.
He said: “Credit should go to the boys, they worked so hard and we deserved this victory.”
On his part, Civo coach Abbas Makawa said his charges were out of sorts.
“We missed a good chance in the early stages, then we conceded the first goal due to loss of concentration and then we gifted them the second goal that demoralised us,” he said.
At Civo Stadium in the capital city, after being frustrated for the entire first half by a strong-willed Creck side, Bullets took the lead in the 59th minute through their wonderby Patrick Mwaungulu whose powerful shot gave the hosts’goalkeeper Charles Chisale no chance.
But seven minutes later, they were back on level terms when Gift Kadawati equalised with a powerful header.
Bullets, who registered their sixth draw, remain fifth with 15 points from 10 matches.
Creck coach McDonald Mtetemera said he was satisfied with a point.
“The league is hot this season and it’s becoming hard to earn points, so 1-1 is a fair result,” he said.
Bullets coach Kallisto Pasuwa said they are failing to make good use of the chances they are creating.
He said: “We were coming from a loss, so a point was not bad.
“Suffice to say we need to start scoring. There is only one player who is scoring. We need to improve in confidence upfront.”
The champions fought for a winner, but Creck’s defence marshalled by Talandira Chigawula stood firm.
In other matches, Karonga United beat Moyale Barracks FC 2-0 at Karonga Stadium, Mafco FC beat Chitipa United by the same margin.
Bangwe All Stars and Mzuzu City Hammers played out a barren draw while Fomo FC and PremierBet Dedza Dynamos also drew one-all
