* Blue Eagles displace Ekhaya FC from 4th position ahead of the Cowboys league assignment tomorrow against Moyale FC at Kamuzu Stadium
* As Civil Service United jump from 13th to 9th after emphatic 5-0 triumph over rock bottom Jenda United at Civo Stadium
By Duncan Mlanjira
Mighty Wanderers have beaten Mzuzu City Hammers 1-0 today in their Week 13 TNM Super League match at Kamuzu Stadium through Isaac Kaliati’s 90th minute goal from the penalty spot to get 5 points clear of Nyasa Big Bullets, who were on bye as they are playing in the Airtel Top 8 2025 final tomorrow against Silver Strikers at Bingu National Stadium.
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The Nomads, who displaced the Bullets a week ago after the People’s Team lost 1-2 to Civil Service United, have amassed 32 points against the second-placed Bullets’ 27 at 11 games apiece played so far.
Wanderers are still unbeaten with nine wins and two draws while from the same number of games, the Bullets have lost two, winning nine and not drawing.
On third place are the reigning champions Silver Strikers while Blue Eagles beat Karonga United 1-0 through Micium Mhone’s 25th minute goal this afternoon at Karonga Stadium — to displace Ekhaya FC from 4th position from 6th with 20 points.
The Eagles share 20 points with 3rd-placed Silver and the Cowboys, who have their league assignment tomorrow against Moyale FC at home, Kamuzu Stadium.
Meanwhile, Civil Service United jumped from 13th to 9th after emphatic 5-0 triumph over rock bottom Jenda United at Civo Stadium through two braces each from Frank Chizuze (3’, 36’) and Precious Chipungu (78’, 89’) and a 90+3 5th goal from Muhamad Biason.
Two other games tomorrow are between Kamuzu Barracks, who have been pushed to 6th from 5th by Blue Eagles’ win, and Mighty Tigers (24th) to be played at Champions Stadium — while 11th-placed Chitipa United from 10th are meeting 8th-placed Creck United.
But focus will be on debutantes Ekhaya FC match against the seasoned TNM Super League side at Kamuzu Stadium — venue of their two consecutive 0-1 losses both to giants Nyasa Big Bullets and Mighty Wanderers.
The match between Wanderers and Ekhaya that the Nomads won 1-0
They entered the elite league fray by first beating Mighty Tigers 2-0 in their opener; proceeded to beat Civil Service United 1-0 before a 0-1 loss to Chitipa United away.
They then beat fellow debutantes Songwe United 2-1; lost 0-1 to Kamuzu Barracks; beat Karonga United 2-0; drew 0-0 with Blue Eagles; beat Mzuzu City Hammers 3-1; Creck Sporting Club 1-0 and drew 0-0 with Dedza Dynamos before the narrow back-to-back losses to Bullets and Wanderers.
Thus tomorrow’s match will be interesting to watch as Ekhaya, under the tutelage of coach Enos Chatama, are aiming for a title shot and a qualification into the Airtel Top 8 2026 at the end of the season.
Chatama modestly contends that so far they are fulfilling their ambition to make their mark in the elite league — and stay put in it going forward.
But he now needs to reign in some of his players’ game tempers as the Cowboys have been ordered to appear before the Super League of Malawi (SULOM) disciplinary committee for a hearing for unsporting behavior during their match against Nyasa Big Bullets in which goalkeeper Elias Missi has been charged of violent conduct for strangling Bullets player, Babatunde Adepoju.
For Ekhaya FC, they have been charged of “bringing the League into disrepute, damaging the image of sponsors TNM Plc, the Super League of Malawi, and the game.
However, they are not alone, as the reigning champions, Silver Strikers have also been charged for unsporting behavior during their match against MAFCO FC for “failing to control the actions of its supporters, who poured a fluid substance on MAFCO’s goalkeeper and intimidated players”.
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The Bankers are also charged of “pitch invasion [by their supporter], compromising the safety and security of players and match officials” as well as “bringing the League into disrepute, undermining the integrity and reputation of the League”.
“The charges highlight the importance of maintaining discipline and sportsmanship in the league,” said SULOM in its statement issued today, July 19.
Silver Strikers issued a damage control statement soon after the incident accepting responsibility of breach of security and safety for the pitch invasion but fell short of identifying the perpetrators — opting to described them as “individuals claiming to be associated with the club”.
A video clip that Maravi Express has in possession shows a fan dressed in Silver Strikers jersey colours (No. 92) captured at the VIP stand aggressively gesturing and appearing to be making some offensive utterances to MAFCO players as they made their way to the tunnel.
Screenshots of the video clip the fan is captured in
When some of the players looked to be reacting to the man’s utterances, he poured some liquid at them, from a glass bottle of beer he had in his hands — which is contrary to Football Association of Malawi (FAM) and Confederation of African Football (CAF) that stadium authorities should never allow fans to enter stadia with glass bottles.
The fan is then restrained by another individual, which prompted the aggressor to try to wrestle himself to continue with his barbaric actions as the players calmly walked away into the tunnel — a huge plus to the military side in as far as sportsmanship is concerned.
In its statement, Silver Strikers took cognizance that earlier during the game, a supporter — whom the team also does not indicate that he was a Silver fan — invaded the pitch and “poured a fluid substance on MAFCO’s goalkeeper” and that “after the final whistle, another individual poured liquid on MAFCO players as they made their way to the tunnel”.
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“These acts represent a serious breach of sportsmanship and stadium safety regulations,” maintained the team. “Such conduct is utterly contrary to the values of fair play, respect, and professionalism that Silver Strikers Football Club stands for.
“We consider these actions not only unsporting and dangerous but also damaging to the integrity of the game,” says the club, while extending their “sincere apologies to the affected MAFCO players, their technical team, match officials and all supporters present”.
“The Club does not condone any form of violence, intimidation, or pitch invasion — whether by fans or any individuals claiming to be associated with Silver Strikers.
“As a Club, we will fully cooperate with relevant authorities in the investigation of these incidents [and] in addition, we are launching an internal review and taking necessary steps to strengthen our security, ensuring such incidents do not happen again,” said the club — sentiments adjudged to be damage control.
