For the first time in five years, Be Forward Wanderers have finished the season without any silverware.
Their last hope for the season was the TNM Super League, but they again finished second to their age-old rivals Nyasa Big Bullets, who retained the title on Sunday with a 2-0 win over Kasungu-based TN Stars.
Nomads chairperson Gift Mkandawire described it as painful.
“It’s painful considering how much we invested. We beefed up the squad by roping in good players such as Fransisco Mkonda, Vincent Nyangulu and Babatunde [Adepoju].
“At some point we appeared to be in control, but there were some matches we lost which we should have won and that put pressure on us.
“There was a time when neba [Bullets] were six or seven points behind, but they caught up and overtook us and from then on, it became difficult to play a catch-up game.
“Anyway, we can’t cry over spilt milk, this should serve as a lesson to us,” he said.
Apart from failing to win the league by a whisker, Wanderers also missed an opportunity to have their sponsorship raised by $20 000 (about K15 million) as stipulated in their sponsorship contract with Be Forward Limited.
Head coach Bob Mpinganjira and captain Alfred Manyozo Jnr apologised to the Nomads faithful.
“It’s painful to finish the season without any silverware and we understand how the supporters feel and I can only say we are sorry,” he said.
On his part, Manyozo said: “The worst part is the manner in which they failed to win the title after being in control for the better part of the season.
Bullets stand-in captain Chimango Kayira attributed their success to determination and fighting spirit.
Posting on his Facebook page, football analyst and former Wanderers general secretary David Kanyenda attributed Nomads woes to challenges both on and off the pitch.
He said: “Nomads blew what was thought to be an unassailable seven-point lead conceding the title in the final third of the season.
“Even more disappointing is Nomads failure to beat any of the top four teams.
“Nomads lost twice to Blue Eagles and drew in all fixtures against Bullets and Silver. On the other hand, champions Bullets managed to beat both Eagles and Silver at least once.
“It seems to me that’s what eventually made a huge difference for them.”
