* But Babatunde equalised with a powerful shot inside the penalty box after he received a brilliant pass from Yankho Singo
* Precious Phiri rose to the occasion in the 82′ in what is a huge turn around and Nyasa Bullets went on the defend their lead ahead of the return leg is set for Lusaka next Saturday
Maravi Express
After Zambia’s Red Arrows’ Ricky Banda scored in the 57th minute, Nyasa Big Bullets’ Babatunde Adepoju leveled the scores 20 minutes later in the 77th minute while Precious Phiri added the second in 82nd for the hosts to win 2-1 in the first leg of the preliminary round of the CAF Champions League 2024.
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According to bullet updates of the match by Nyasa Big Bullets Media, Ricky Banda scored for the visitors when Bullets defenders failed to stop the forward who was pressing from the centre of the box into the penalty box.
But Babatunde equalised with a powerful shot inside the penalty box after he received a brilliant pass from Yankho Singo before releasing the powerful shot, beating Red Arrows’ goalkeeper, Charles Kalumba to the far right.
Precious Phiri rose to the occasion in the 82′ in what is a huge turn around and Nyasa Bullets went on the defend their lead ahead of the return leg is set for Lusaka next Saturday.
From the beginning, Bullets were pressing for an early goal and in the 5th minute offensive, Maxwell Phodo shot wide, 0-0 and he was back just two minutes later but his shot inside the six-yard box was well saved by shot-stopper Charles Kalumba.
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Bullets kept dominating play as there wasn’t much of an attack from the visitors who were yet to test Richard Chimbamba in goals for the hosts.
Phodo only needed a strong touch to put the Bullets in the lead but his weaker attempt was easily saved by Charles Kalumba in the early stages of the match.
The visitors threatened in the 25th minute through Ackim Mumba but his shot was well saved by Richard Chimbamba, the first serious attempt at goal from Red Arrows and a mistake from Richard Chimbamba in the 30th nearly punished Bullets but he was quick to make amends with a save, denying Godfrey Ngwenya a chance to score inside the penalty box.
Phodo was back in the 41th minute but his shot well saved by Kalumba again and two minutes later the visitors’ Brian Chilimina made his way into Bullets’s defensive zone before releasing a thunderous shot that was well saved by Chimbamba for a corner-kick which Precious Sambani easily defended.
After recess, Arrows’ goalkeeper Kalumba denied Precious Phiri a chance to score in the 48th with a brilliant save to deny the winger who did everything right to connect Maxwell Phodo’s cross.
In the 51st, goalkeeper Chimbamba came to Bullets rescue when he cleared a dangerous cross bound for a goal to keep the game at 0-0 while in the 55th, Nickson Nyasulu made a goal saving tackle when he intercepted a very dangerous cross from Ackim Mumba.
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Coach Kalisto Pasuwa made some changes in the 60th replacing Phodo and Ronald Chitiyo for Ephraim Kondowe and Stanley Billiat and it changed complexion of the game as Babatunde began his in roads sending his header over the crossbar first before the final touch to score in the 77th.
In other results of the CAF Champions League on Saturday, Young Africans of Tanzania triumphed with a 4-0 away win over FC Vitalo while Namibia’s Africa Stars claimed a 1-0 win over Gaborone Galaxy of Botswana.
Moroccan giants Raja Casablanca defeated Garde Nationale 2-1 in Niger as Commercial Bank of Ethiopia earned a 2-1 victory on the road against Burundi’s FC Villa Jogo.
The full results of the CAF Champions League first-leg matches are:
* FC Villa Jogo 1-2 Commercial Bank of Ethiopia
* FC Vitalo 0-4 Young Africans
* Africa Stars 1-0 Gaborone Galaxy
* Ngazi Platinum 0-0 AS Maniema
* Saint-Louis 0-1 Sagrada Esperança
* Garde Nationale 1-2 Raja Casablanca
* Red Star 0-0 Djoliba Bamako
* Stade d’Abidjan 1-1 FC Teungueth
* Bo Rangers 1-1 San Pedro
* Douanes du Burkina Faso 0-0 Cotonou du Bénin
* Al Nasr 0-0 Al-Merreikh—Reporting on other matches by CAFonline
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