By Edwin Mbewe
LILONGWE-(MaraviPost)-Silver Strikers defeated Moyale Barracks 4-1 on aggregate to complete the semifinal line-up on Sunday, May 18, 2025, at Rumphi Stadium.
Heading into the second leg of the quarterfinals, the Bankers held a slender 1-0 lead from the first leg, which took place at Silver Stadium in Lilongwe a few weeks ago.
On Sunday, the Bankers secured a 3-1 victory over Moyale Barracks, thanks to goals from midfielder Festus Duwe, who netted a brace, and Stain Davie, who opened the scoring in the 16th minute.
Duwe, who now leads the tournament’s top scorer chart with three goals, found the net in the 59th and 67th minutes, respectively.
The former Civil Service United midfielder was later voted ‘Dolo of the Match’ for his outstanding performance.
Moyale Barracks’ consolation goal came from Black Allisen in the 81st minute, as he capitalized on a well-delivered corner kick by Lovemore Jere.
Silver Strikers will now face city rivals Civil Service United in the semifinals, while defending champions FCB Nyasa Big Bullets will take on Karonga United, who knocked out Mighty Wanderers FC and Mzuzu City Hammers, respectively.
After the match, Moyale Barracks head coach Pritchard Mwansa described the cup exit as painful, saying, “This is really painful for us. We didn’t expect this. We easily gave away the ball and lost possession to our opponents, hence we got punished. We will go back and rectify our shortfalls.”
On the other hand, Silver Strikers FC head coach Peter Mgangira expressed his excitement at progressing to the semis, saying, “We came here to attack, and that approach paid off as we scored three goals. If we had focused on defending our one-goal lead, we might have been punished. I’m thrilled to be moving on to the next stage.”
The Bankers have won the Airtel Top 8 twice since its inception in 2017.
