Battle of rookies as Bvumbwe host Kabwafu

Rookies Bvumbwe United and Kabwafu FC will wring each other’s neck on Saturday at Kamuzu Stadium in a TNM Super League encounter.

Despite playing 740 kilometres away from their base, Kabwafu will go into the match brimming with confidence after an impressive start that saw them beat Moyale Barracks 2-1 and Epac 2-0. They have only lost to Mafco.

Kabwafu are coming from a goalless draw against Kamuzu Barracks and their coach Watson Zimba is upbeat about collecting points in Blantyre.

“We are not scared of playing away [from home]. We can easily beat Bvumbwe because there is discipline in this team. We play as a team and the players got free of stage fright when we beat Moyale,” said Zimba in a telephone interview from Mzimba.

Statistics put the visitors at an advantage. They are eighth on the log table whereas Bvumbwe are last but one—14th.

Kabwafu leading striker Chairs Chilembo is proving to be an effective marksman having scored three goals in three games. His partnership with Dan Msimuko can be the undoing of many teams this season.

Straight from defeats at the hands of Civo United and Mafco, Bvumbwe will be in a killing mood and team manager Richard Lister said they are eyeing victory against Kabwafu.

“Of course, we lost to bigger sides last week, but we hope the game against Kabwafu will be the start of our recovery. The problem has been lack of a coordination between strikers and the midfield, but the coach is working on that,” said Lister.

Bvumbwe had a great start to the season after a surprise 3-1 drubbing of Blantyre United, but after that, the going has been tough. However, their having Vincent Chinthenga, the current leading goal scorer, could speak volumes of what they can do against Kabwafu.

Chinthenga has so far scored seven goals and is a strong contender for the Golden Boot Award.

Kabwafu will have a tougher test against Mighty Wanderers on Sunday. Zimba believes it is possible to get a result against Wanderers.

“If we maintain our confidence on the ball, I see us beating Wanderers. Sometimes it is just names that bring nervousness in players, but we want to take Wanderers as any other team,” he said.