……Wanderers 10-1 Katete Rangers
By Edwin Mbewe
LILONGWE-(MaraviPost)-The Mighty Mukuru Wanderers Football Club on Thursday, October 5, 2023, taught a non-league outfit from Blantyre Rural, to be precise Lilangwe, Katete Super Rangers FC, some bitter football lessons after knocking them out of the Castel Challenge Cup with a huge 10-1 margin.
Mark Harrison-led side broke the deadlock in the 9 minutes into the game through veteran forward Chiukepo Msowoya, who headed home from a Misheck Botoman ball.
Isaac Kaliat registered his name on the scoresheet at 12 minutes with a rebound.
In the 16th minute, Francisco Madinga found the back of the net with a simple tap-in, capitalizing on a mistake from the Katete goalkeeper.
The Nomads ignited fire as they aimed to finish off the lads in the first half.
At 23 minutes in the second half, goalkeeper George Fak for the visitors made double saves from Francisco Madinga and Chiukepo Msowoya before Robin Ngalande saw his rebound go wide.
The boys failed to do anything correctly as they ended up shivering like someone with a hangover. Katete found it difficult to penetrate and break the Nomads’ defense to try their luck on goals.
In the 37th minute, the visitors seemed to have built confidence and started pressing, searching for goals, but they lacked composure and marksmanship upfront.
Before the close of the first half, Isaac Kaliat scored for the Wanderers with a beautiful connection from Ahamadu Kung’unde in the 43rd minute. Francis Mkonda scored the fifth goal. At halftime, it was 5-0.
At the beginning of the second half, Balikinho Mwakanyongo conceded a penalty after he brought down Charles Kaupinde in the penalty box.
Madalitso Mwachumu easily converted it past William Thole in the 48th minute for a consolation goal. As the boys were on cloud nine after reducing the deficit, Msowoya scored the 6th goal for the Nomads from Francisco Madinga’s beautiful ball in the 54th minute.
Wanderers coach Harrison gave a chance to other players on the bench as Miracle Gabeya, Isaac Kaliat, and William Thole paved the way for Wisdom Mpinganjira, Adeleke Kalaole, and Dalitso Khungwa in the 55th minute.
Chiukepo Msowoya completed his hat-trick in the 58th minute, making life worse for Katete Rangers in the Castel Cup as the margin reached 7-1.
Mario Gadanga, the head coach for the boys, also made changes as Blessings Kambwiri and Thoko Edward replaced Foster Manyozo and Charles Kalipinde in the 63rd minute. George Fak, the goalkeeper who conceded 7 goals, was substituted for Gerald Mollis.
Robin Ngalande scored the 8th goal for the Wanderers after receiving a beautiful ball from Chiukepo Msowoya in the 71st minute. At the 74th minute, Madinga scored a stunning goal, and Misheck Botoman scored the last goal of the game in the 78th minute with an assist from Mphatso Kamanga.
Despite scoring 10 goals, the Wanderers also missed several chances through Chiukepo Msowoya and Robin Ngalande.
In a post-match interview, Mighty Wanderers FC coach Mark Harrison said the match was just a mere friendly as they finished it in the first half.
“It was just a training game; scoring three goals within 10-12 minutes into the game, we killed it all. I just got disappointed with the referee for giving them a penalty.
“I have talked about this, and I am getting tired now. We have scored more than 20 goals, but we failed to finish the chances,” said Harrison.
Katete Rangers coach Mario Gadaga acknowledged the defeat but was excited about the display of football from his boys.
“We played a good game, and you saw people staying in the stadium up to the last whistle. The teams come from rural areas; hence, we can’t expect to defeat Wanderers, and that one goal is a great achievement for us,” Gadaga said.
With the win, Mighty Mukuru Wanderers FC became the second team to secure a spot in the K320 million prestigious Castel Challenge Cup.
Wanderers have joined Blue Eagles FC, who defeated Chipiku Premier Division League outfit Leyman Panthers FC 4-0 at Civo Stadium on Wednesday, October 4, 2023, with a total of 15 goals registered from the two games played in the round of 64.
