Carlsberg sends big guns to sleep

Whether it is Carlsberg Green, Stout or Special, it is not advisable to drink recklessly, lest you stagger to sleep.

After all, did William Shakespeare not warn in his Macbeth masterpiece that alcohol “provokes the desire, but takes away the performance?”

Malawi football giants Silver Strikers, Moyale Barracks, Civo United and Mighty Wanderers ignored this caution while partaking in Carlsberg Malawi Limited-sponsored cup last weekend.

And the results of the last round of 16 matches were disastrous for the giants Silver, Civo, Wanderers and Moyale, leaving fans with nothing much to cheer about as their crowd-pullers are down and out.

The teams slipped on the pitch before they were left sleeping in heaps.

On November 4, Silver drove recklessly from Lilongwe to the old capital, Zomba. The trip could only end in tears at the Zomba Community Centre ground.

The match seemed to be heading for a listless conclusion only for fresher and sober second-half substitute Thomas Makumba’s brace to chock Silver.

“It simply was not our day,” said Silver midfielder Frank Banda.

It was an unhappy homecoming for Silver coach Frank ‘Franco’ Ndawa.

As Silver were staggering out, their rivals in Lilongwe, Civo United, were left vomiting after a 3-2 beating at the hands of Epac FC.

Civo and Silver should have taken one too many with caution as the warning was on the wall by dusk on Saturday with the initial upsets.

Mighty Wanderers, who partied over their rivals Big Bullets’ exit from the cup a few days earlier, found themselves crawling 3-0 at half-time of their match against Blue Eagles.

Joseph Kamwendo tried to salvage some pride in an otherwise intoxicated Wanderers side with two penalty goals, but the cops fired the tear gas.

After producing two red cards and two penalties, the Balaka Stadium dance eventually ended 3-2 in favour of the police officers.

The defeat left Nomads wandering to nowhere, with their fans breaking into an orgy of stone-throwing and a fight, including with the police.

The intoxicated Wanderers fans, popularly known as nyerere [ants], seemed to copy what some fans did after Big Bullets lost 2-1 to non-leaguers, Karonga Vendors.

The fans resorted to violence at Mzuzu Stadium a fortnight ago, but relevant authorities subsequently cleaned Bullets of the Mzuzu mud they were smeared by some quarters. But evidence was too pronounced for Wanderers to get away with the Balaka fracas, which has some of its fans fined in court.

With both Wanderers and Bullets trying to impress potential suitors Carlsberg Malawi Limited, who have promised to sponsor either of them next season, it seems the exit from the cup should put them on equal footing.

Bullets chairperson Malinda Chinyama is not sharing the sponsorship optimism, though.

“There are so many things Carlsberg are looking for. It is not only the performance but also discipline, so we cannot say with certainty as to who are being favoured for the sponsorship,” was Chinyama’s sober analysis of the events.

Carlsberg is sponsoring Wanderers and Bullets this season and will settle for one team next season. It is a tough call for the beer brewers whose roots are in Denmark.