A painful defeat has threatened to derail Standard Bank Blue Eagles’ FDH Bank Premiership title ambitions, but the Area 30 side is not ready to wave the white flag just yet.
Eagles head coach Deklerk Msakakuona says his side remains in the race for the FDH Bank Premiership title despite a poor start to the second round.
The Area 30 Eagles suffered a 2-1 defeat to Ekhaya FC at Mpira Stadium in Chiwembe, Blantyre on Friday.
Ekhaya took charge in the first half under centre referee Ennes Gumbo and on the 21st minute, Francis John Mchema fired past goalkeeper Precious Masamba to give the Cowboys the lead.
Blue Eagles drew level 17 minutes later through supper substitute Pius Mchema, who tapped into an empty net after Alick Lungu failed to deal with the ball.
Ten minutes later from the stalemate, the Mpinganjira boys produced a classic passing move near the Blue Eagles box, which resulted in a brace for Mchema.
Msakakuona accepted defeat but insisted the title race is far from over.
“We have many more games ahead where we can collect points to race for the title,” he said.
He commended his players for their performance despite the slow start to the second round, admitting that their opponents utilised their chances and they were punished.
On his part, Ekhaya interim coach Fundi Akidu said they adopted a slow approach due to the weather conditions and could not afford to drop points at home.
“We need to accept that we have used home ground advantage to collect maximum points,” Akidu said.
The win has pushed Ekhaya to fifth position with 25 points, while Blue Eagles remain third with 34 points, both from 18 games.