By Lusekero Mhango
KARONGA-(MaraviPost)-Ramadhan Ntafu’s 88th-minute penalty was enough as title hopefuls Chitipa United earned a hard-fought 1-0 win over a struggling Red Lions at the Karonga Stadium on Saturday, September 30, 2023.
Ntafu who was dropped to the bench for this encounter came on at half time and made no mistake from 12 yards after the referee had pointed to the spot following a foul on Lorenzo Ghedo.
The match which was not a classic encounter by any means saw the home side do enough to collect three vital points in their hunt for the TNM Super League championship.
The visitors which faced an uphill task to maintain their top-flight status were the better side in the second half and forced the Chitipa United keeper George Chikooka to a couple of saves.
However, having the majority of the possession could not turn it to regular meaningful chances as the home side’s defence stood strong to earn the three points.
Speaking in a post-match interview Chitipa United’s coach McDonald Mtetemera, said he was pleased to come out of a tough encounter with all the three points as they were not at their best.
“It wasn’t a perfect performance as I know we can play better but at this stage of the season all that matters is all the maximum points because every team is battling hard to win matches for their own reasons,” he said.
However, Red Lions officials declined to grant a post-match interview to the gathered media as they directed the media to speak to the officiating panel of the game instead.
With the win Chitipa United clime up to second on the league standings with 42 points to their name from 23 matches while Red Lions remain languishing in 15th place with only 18 points to their name from the same number of played matches.
