Tomorrow’s Airtel Top 8 second encounter between Nyasa Big Bullets and Ekhaya their 4th in competitive meetings

* With The People’s team winning two in league assignments and the 1-1 draw in the first leg of the Airtel Top 8 quarterfinal

* Chatama has overseen a remarkable turnaround after a difficult start to the season — acknowledge the Bullets

* The winners between the two sides will face who triumph between Creck Sporting and Mighty Wanderers in which the Nomads lead 2-0

By Duncan Mlanjira

Defending champions have delved deep into Ekhaya FC ahead of the 2nd leg of the Airtel Top 8 quarterfinal match scheduled for tomorrow after the Cowboys came from behind to force a 1-1 draw in the 1st leg at Bingu Stadium.

Now that they are hosting the side they have met three times before in competitive matches, in which the Bullets won two in the top flight league assignments — 1-0 and 2-0 — the People’s Team have gone back to the boardroom.

The Bullets Club Media take cognizance that Ekhaya have continued their rise in Malawian football after earning promotion to the TNM Super League and established themselves among the country’s emerging sides during their debut in 2025 season.

The Bullets Media further takes not that the Cowboys secured a top eight finish in their maiden season to qualify for the Airtel Top 8, thus they make a tough opponent by carrying that momentum into the 2026 campaign in which they lie 5th in the FDH Bank Premiership from nine matches of four wins, three draws and two defeats.

“Chatama has overseen a remarkable turnaround after a difficult start to the season, building a disciplined side that is difficult to break down while remaining dangerous on the counter-attack,” acknowledge the Bullets.

The club media further takes cognizance that the 1-1 draw in the first leg was a “disciplined” performance that “that extended an unbeaten run that has featured league victories over Kamuzu Barracks and Masters FC — along with hard-earned draws against Mighty Wanderers, the Bullets and, most recently LUANAR Mitundu”.

“That resurgence has been built on defensive solidity, with the Cowboys keeping four clean sheets and conceding only three goals during the unbeaten sequence.”

The Bullets Media also reports that the head coach, Wedson Nyirenda that The People’s Team must adopt a different mindset against Ekhaya, saying “a place in the semifinals is on the line”.

At a pre-match press briefing, the coach told journalists cup matches have always been different: “It will never be the same because a cup game is a cup game — the result is need there and then.

“You are not looking for a draw or anything else. If you want to progress, you simply must win. So, we need to score the goals that are required, defend well and manage the game properly. I think that is all we need,” the coach is quoted as saying.

The winners between the two sides will face who triumph between Creck Sporting Club and Mighty Wanderers in which the Nomads lead 2-0 ahead of the 2nd leg at Aubrey Dimba Stadium on Sunday.

Civil Service United will host Blue Eagles at Civo Stadium having  drawn 0-0 in the first encounter while Silver Strikers — who have a 2-0 cushion over Karonga United, have travelled for the 2nd leg to be played at Karonga Stadium, also leading 2-0.

The Bankers head coach Peter Mgangira — whose side lost 0-1 to the Bullets told Silver Strikers Media that his side is ready for the showdown on Sunday against Karonga United.

“We have been up here for five or six days after the league match against Chitipa United,” he is quoted as saying. “The boys are in good shape, and they know the importance of winning this game.

“The response from the boys has been so good. We are going to face Karonga United flat out and grab a win,” said Mgangira.

This is the third meeting between the two sides in the Airtel Top 8, after playing against each other in the competition’s final on June 29, 2019, and on June 14 this year, when the two sides met in the first leg of the quarterfinal at Silver Stadium.

Silver Strikers have won the Airtel Top 8 twice and have never been eliminated in the quarterfinals since the tournament’s inception in 2017.

Nyasa Big Bullets are the most successful club in Airtel Top 8 history having won the title four times (2021, 2023, 2024, 2025).

Meanwhile, fans can watch the games live and relive the TV broadcast highlights of the first leg through the following link; https://www.dazn.com/en-MW/competition/Competition:h4mwrqwtze55164sy5cqv4ux8.