Malawi: Bullets lucky to lose 1-0 to Wanderers - Mponda

Wanderers (in blue) against Bullets:

Photo Credit: FCB Nyasa Big Bullets FC.

FCB Nyasa Big Bullets coach Peter Mponda has admitted that his team was outplayed and deserved to lose 1-0 to rivals Mighty Wanderers in Saturday’s Blantyre derby.

In a post-match interview, the former Silver Strikers mentor suggested that the 17-time champions were lucky to concede just one goal by Blessings Mwalilino in the 12th minute at Kamuzu Stadium in the commercial capital, Blantyre.

“We didn’t play well, especially in the first half. Our counterparts were supposed to be leading 2-0 in the first half. We were lucky to trail by 1-0,” he said.

With the Bullets’ impressive six-game winning streak coming to an end, the former Flames defender said his side was nowhere near their best in front of a packed stadium.

He said: “I don’t think we deserved to get anything from this game. Yes, we wanted to keep going with our 100 percent record, but the way we played today, we were nowhere near keeping that record.”

Mponda’s opposite, Bob Mpinganjira, dedicated the victory to the late Yasin Osman, the team’s former technical director, whose switch from Wanderers to Bullets in the late 1960s was the genesis of the rivals.

“I am very happy with this win. I should give it to Yasin Osman. The players have done exactly what we instructed them to do in the training sessions. They worked hard. As you know, we drew 1-1 against Silver Strikers last week when we conceded a late goal just when we thought we could have collected three points. This time around, we scored early and kept the goal up to 90 minutes,” Mpinganjira said.

Wanderers’ win was the first against Bullets in the league since 2021, handing Bullets a first league defeat of the 2025 season under Mponda. The Nomads took their tally to 16 points from six games, lying two points behind the rivals with a game in hand.