Bullets scored two quick goals through Maxwell Gasten Phodo. His first goal came just 7 minutes into the first half when he headed home a Lanjesi Nkhoma corner kick.
At 36 minutes, he fired a powerful shot after cruising past two defenders, and his shot went to the top right corner to double the lead.
Phodo’s brace was enough for the Malawi side, popularly known as ‘The People’s Team’ to secure a win.
Their coach Kallisto Pasuwa was pleased with the performance and praised his team.
He has however warned against complacency despite scoring two important away goals.
“You saw how they [Dragon FC] performed in the second half, attacking-minded, just that we caught them in transition as their boys have big bodies. So, as you cannot tell, we still have another job back home,” he said.
Bullets close to redemption
Bullets will host Dragon at the Bingu National Stadium in Malawi on Sunday for the second leg.
Last year, the Bullets failed to progress after 2-0 back-to-back defeats at the hands of Simba FC of Tanzania. And in 2021, they won away to AmaZulu of South Africa before being stunned 3-1 at home and being booted out in the preliminary stages.
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The bullets have been struggling to progress into the second round. The only year they managed to go through was 2015 when they beat Fomboni FC. The first leg ended 1-0 away and drew 2-2 in Malawi.
They were later knocked out by Sudan’s Al Hilal following a 4-0 away loss and 1-1 in Malawi.
