BLANTYRE(MaraviPost)— Silver Strikers will welcome plucky underdogs Azam Tigers today in a Standard Bank knockout final showdown at the Civo Stadium in Lilongwe, a game which is promising to be a tightly contested affair.
The do-or-die match comes on the back of Silver’s two consecutive defeats at the hands of Mighty Wanderers in the 2012 and 2013 finals of the cup.
The Bankers were on the verge of proving that they can’t beat Nomads in Standard Bank Cup but they served up a reminder of their class with a deserved victory over the distant rivals at the semifinal stage in a dramatic and pulsating penalty shootout at the Kamuzu Stadium last week.
Now they turn their full attention to their remaining realistic hope of winning Standard Bank silverware in today’s date with Tigers.
Tigers won the cup in 2009 and they will be looking for second grip so as to be at par with the Nomads—the only team which won the cup two times.
Speaking to Zodiak radio this morning, Coach for Silver Stein Chirwa said morale is high within the Bankers’ camp and can’t afford to miss the title three consecutive times.
“We have prepared well for the game and morale is high within the camp. As you know, we have missed the title two times and this is our third time to play the final of this prestigious cup; as such we will do everything possible to win the game,” said Chirwa adding they can’t manage to miss the title three consecutive times.
The Bankers, who boast the most sustainable sponsorship in the land, have not won a cup for the past seven years.
In contrast, they have enjoyed good run in the Super League having won it three times consecutively in the past four seasons, a situation which Flames Coach Young Chimodzi who also played for the team attributed to poor approach for the cup games.
Tigers’ Coach Franco Ndawa sounded spiritual by saying “everything is possible with God” accompanied by praise and worship songs by his players.
Ndawa said they are in the finals because of God considering that they made it into the competition through votes from supporters, and they believe God will also help them to grab the cup.
Tigers have not been impressive in this year’s TNM Super League but in the cup games, history and form go out of the window and it’s all about who delivers the goods on the day.
The winner will go away with K9 million and a trophy.
