On a blue afternoon that had revenge plastered all over Kamuzu Stadium in Blantyre Tuesday, vengeful Be Forward Wanderers finally mastered the art of defeating 10- man Masters Security FC.
Nomads gave Masters, who hardly mustered a shot on target in the first-half, a bitter taste of their own medicine after trouncing them 4-0 Tuesday in the Fisd Challenge Cup round-of-32 match.
It was a perfect revenge for Wanderers—three days after the visitors denied them the Carlsberg Cup at the same venue—as they date minnows Dwangwa Town Hammers in the round-of-16.
Not only did the Nomads reshuffle their playing squad but also slipped into the traditional blue colours on an afternoon that saw Peter Wadabwa net a double in the third and 11th minutes before Mike Kaziputa added the third goal three minutes later.
Attacker Yamikani Chester netted the fourth goal in the 69th minute.
The emphatic win was all due to the Nomads Coach Bob Mpinganjira’s tactical switch, restoring winger Kaziputa, defender Lucky Malata, midfielder Rafik Namwera and striker Wadabwa to the starting line-up in place of Isaac Kaliyati, Bongani Kayipa, Joseph Kamwendo and Precious Sambani, respectively.
Hopes of the Carlsberg Cup kings crawling back into the game vanished as Kaziputa volleyed into the net the third goal after Masters’ defence had clearly poorly Chester’s shot.
Things turned from bad to worse for Masters as Juba sent Masters defender Richard Chande for an early shower following his open-stud lunge on Namwera who was driven off the stadium for treatment following a leg injury.
There was more drama as, minutes after Namwera’s injury, Juba flashed mistakenly a red card to Masters Captain Francis Mkonda before rescinding his decision to give him a yellow card.
In the second-half, Masters towering forward striker Babatunde Adebare threatened to drag the visitors back into the game but despite making several attempts, including a header that bounced off the post, he was heavily guarded by Malata, Kaziputa and Alfred Manyozo Junior.
At half-time, Football Association of Malawi and sponsors Fisd company conducted a round-of-16 draw that also saw Kamuzu Barracks being paired against Maka FC, Silver Strikers date Civil Sporting Club whereas Mafco, Zamani FC, Bullets Reserve, Airborne Rangers and Bloomfield meet Chitipa United, Nyasa Big Bullets, Blue Eagles, Ipota Shooting Stars and Moyale Barracks, respectively.
