The battle for the National Bank of Malawi Women’s Premiership took an interesting turn over the weekend when giants Silver Strikers Ladies and FCB Nyasa Big Bullets Women’s unbeaten runs ended dramatically.
At Silver Stadium in Lilongwe City, Civil Service United Women earned Capital City bragging rights following a narrow 3-2 victory over rivals Silver Ladies on Saturday while Ascent Soccer Academy stunned Bullets Women at Mpira Stadium in Blantyre City Sunday.
In the Capital City derby, Silver Ladies tasted their first defeat in four NBM Women’s Premiership matches this season.
Last season, Silver Ladies went nine matches without a loss but their record came to a halt when they 2-1 to MDF Lionesses at the same venue.
This could be a wakeup call for the defending champions.
Vitumbiko Mercy Mkandawire scored a brace for Civil Women in a space of three minutes to take her goal tally to eight this season.
Mkandawire is the leading goal scorer.
Madyina Ngulube pulled one back in added time of the first half.
Maneni Kapasule restored Civil Women’s two-goal cushion in the 71st minute before Ireen Khumalo netted the second goal for Silver Ladies.
However, it was too little, too late for Silver Ladies as they suffered their first defeat of the campaign.
Silver Ladies Coach Shadreck Chikhosi said the loss was a minor setback in the title race.
“We have lost but will defend our title. We will come back stronger.
We have a better team than Civil; so, we are not disturbed,” Chikhosi said. Civil Women Coach Collins Pofera said the victory was a morale booster in the title race.
“We will fight for the championship. The performance of the girls shows that they are ready to fight,” he said.
The win over Silver Ladies propelled Civil Women to the summit with nine points from four matches.
At Mpira Stadium, Ascent Soccer Academy shocked Bullets Women 2-1, ending their unbeaten run.
Maureen Kenneth and Mayamiko Mkandawire were on target for Ascent whereas Swema John netted the consolation goal for Bullets Women.
Following the victory, Ascent moved up to fourth with eight points from four matches.
Bullets Women remain second with nine points from the same number of matches.
This means all the 10 teams in the NBM Women’s Premiership have tasted defeat by match week four this season.
That could set up a potentially exciting title race.