Silver Strikers in Castel Cup final

Silver Strikers shattered Bangwe All Stars’ dream of winning a cup after beating them 2-0 yesterday in the Castel Cup semi-finals at Kamuzu Stadium in Blantyre.

It was a painful loss for the Stars who dominated the match.

From the first whistle, Bangwe controlled the game, but failed to score.  Within 20 minutes, they had created three scoring opportunities through Friday Osagie but did not make them count.

However, they were punished in the 23rd minute when Chimwemwe Idana scored after exchanging passes with Patrick Macheso and Atusaye Nyondo. Idana’s shot at the near post was in the net after goalkeeper Rahaman John failed to keep it out.

Bangwe gave their fans hope that they will come back into the match. Osagie was found unmarked in the 30th minute but failed again to utilise the chance as the ball was cleared at his watch.

In the second half, the Central Bankers substituted defender Emmanuel Kaunga and Duncan Nyoni for Chisomo Mpachika and Zebron Kalima respectively. Later, Atusaye Nyondo was also replaced by George Chaomba.

The substitutions paid dividends as Silver Strikers turned the match around when Macheso cushioned the lead from Kalima’s cross.

Bangwe made changes  to reinforce their striking force but there was nothing for them as they had no shot on target in the second half.

Silver will face the winner of today’s match between FCB Nyasa Bullets and Mighty Mukuru Wanderers.

Silver coach Pieter De Jongh was happy with the win, saying his side played well.

“It was difficult in the first half but we scored a goal, came in the second half, we made changes which helped us to get another goal and defended well,” he said.  

On his part, Bangwe coach Albel Mkandawire blamed his charges for missing scoring opportunities.

“We had chances but failed to score, we were then punished, it was a bad day for us,” he said.