…..Kawinga 4-1 Zitha
By Edwin Mbewe
LILONGWE-(MaraviPost)-The 2023 Chipiku Stores Premier division league season concluded on 28th January 2024 as Kawinga thrashed Namitete Zitha 4-1 in a one-sided encounter at Nankhaka Stadium in Lilongwe.
The area 36-based outfit showed serious intent to win the match as they broke the deadlock with just 15 minutes into the game through Rahim Mtondera who was a marvel to watch in the entire game.
Kawinga extended the lead through Lazarus Chirwa who beautifully headed in a well-taken corner kick by Yasin Chida and the first stanza ended 2-0.
In the second stanza, Namitete Zitha looked inferior to Kawinga as they were outplayed in all departments. Rahim Mtondera scored in the early minutes of the second half but the goal was disallowed for an offside.
Kawinga Coach Harry Saidi and Namitete Zitha made several changes to hype the rhythm of the match though Namitete Zitha’s permutations failed to pay a dividend except for Maxwell Mangwere who at some point terrorized Kawinga midfield but the team lacked firepower upfront as their hitman Mathews Hamuza was tightly marked.
Substitute Lazarus Chirwa extended Kawinga’s lead further in the 75th minute before Kondwani Nyirenda reduced the deficit.
However, Zitha’s celebration of the consolation goal was short-lived as Rahim Mtondera scored minutes later to put the match far from reach by Namitete Zitha, and soon referee Charles Lulaka blew the whistle to mark the end of the match.
In post-match interviews, Kawinga head coach Harry Saidi said, the result was a true reflection of the game as his team played well and they engaged another gear during preparations.
“We have to beef up all departments if we are confirmed of the Superleague promotion. That is a big league and its hype is different with the premier division”, Said Saidi.
In his reaction, Namitete Zitha head coach Martin Mthetho Mkamanga said the break that was there affected their game plan.
” We have just trained for two days for this game, you noted the difference in level of fitness with our counterpart. It has been a very painful season for us as Zitha because we dearly wanted the promotion into the elite league but that’s football we will reorganize ourselves to return with a big bang next season “,
Kawinga football club finished the season with 53 points from 22 games, their top goal scorer is Rahim Mtondera with 10 goals.
However, they have to wait a bit before they know their fate whether they will be declared champions of the MK16.5 million Chipiku Stores Premier division league and earn the TNM Superleague promotion as CRFA is still working on the match-fixing allegations.
Namitete Zitha finishes as runners-up with 47 points from 22 games and the club’s top goal scorer is Mathews Hamuza who has 23 goals and he is also the top goal scorer in the season.
Silver Strikers Reserve are third on the table with 44 points from 22 games and Ebenezer Mpangeni is their top goal scorer with 17 goals.
