Mighty Wanderers dominated the Blantyre derby, defeating FCB Nyasa Big Bullets, their old rivals, 1-0 and setting yet another record. Since 2014, Wanderers have defeated Bullets twice, drawn eleven times, and lost eight times.
BolaNews watched the game and evaluated the performances of both teams’ starting eleven players in the fiercely competitive derby.
Wanderers Starting Eleven.
Wanderers’ starting lineup were Blessings Singini in midfield, Promise Kamwendo and Blessings Mwalilino in front, Francisco Madinga, Gaddie Chirwa, Wisdom Mpinganjira, Felix Zulu (C), Stanley Sanudi, Peter Cholopi, Timothy Silwimba, and Chancy Mtete in goal.
Mtete (7/10) –He was crucial in clearing long balls before Bullets forwards could attempt them, even though they only had one shot on goal.
Cholopi (8/10) – Including the one he made on the line with the goalie already defeated, the center back had four clearances. He had one tackle and two important interceptions.
Sanudi (6/10) –Despite struggling to halt Chikumbutso Salima of the Bullets, the former Malawi captain maintained his composure in the back.
Silwimba (5/10) – Despite his injuries, the former Civil defense performed admirably, clearing two bullet attempts and making two interceptions.
Zulu (6/10) – The Wanderers’ captain was the man in the midfield, stopping the Bullets’ onslaught and stepping up defense when necessary.
Singini (7/10) – He made life difficult for Bullets’ Wongani Lungu and Mike Mkwate.
Madinga (8/10) –The game-winning player was at the top of his game, breaking through the Bullets’ defense and setting up scoring opportunities. He created two scoring opportunities with two shots on goal.
Mpinganjira (5/10) –Not as his best as he failed to do his magic creating only one scoring chance and had no short on target.
Chirwa (6/10) –He was on top of his game, creating two scoring chances, had one shot on target and penetrated well into the Bullets’ half.
Kamwendo (6/10) –Not at his best but his physic pulled defenders giving room to other attackers to utilize spaces.
Mwalilino (8/10) –The only goal scorer was superb, creating issues for the Bullets defense. He failed to make use of the two dribbles he won.
Bullets Starting Eleven.
Among the first eleven bullets are Innocent Nyasulu, Blessings Joseph, Blessings Mpokera, Clyde Senaji, Yankho Singo, Lloyd Aaron, Wongani Lungu, Mike Mwate, Chikumbutso Salima, Maxwell Phodo, and Babatunde Adepoju.
Nyasulu (6/10) –Despite conceding, he was key to Bullets side, stopping two dangerous shots while commanding his defence.
Joseph (5/10) –The only man who tried at the Bullets defence as coach Peter Mponda removed all his partners. However, he allowed Mwalilino to go past him before finishing it home.
Mpokera (4/10) –Before being replaced, he made five mistakes. Singo (5/10): He was switched to left back on his midfield debut, but he didn’t perform well.
Senaji (4/10) –the Kenyan defender in unfamiliar left back role had problems making four mistakes in the opening 23 minutes forcing Mponda to take him out.
Aaron (4/10) –The captain had a bad day in the office, back passes, delaying in releasing the ball, poor passes forcing coach Mponda to replace him at half.
Lungu (5/10) –Had a bad day in the office, misplacing passes while failing to create scoring opportunities. It was difficult for him to win second balls.
Mkwate (3/10) –He made four back passes in the first half before being replaced because he was unable to pass the ball forward.
Salima (6/10) –though not delivering much but he won three of his five dribbles creating three scoring chances but missed in front.
Phodo (4/10) –The majority of his passes were not delivered into the final third, and he lost one important opportunity.
Adepoju (5/10) –He was impactful in the first half, and he lacked supply from his teammates in front of goal.
