Nyasa Big Bullets regained the top spot in the TNM Super League following a 2-0 win away against Red Lions on Saturday at Balaka Stadium.
The win pushed Bullets to 26 points on the log table, one better than second-placed Eagles who have a game in hand.
In a match, monitored on Mpira TV, Bullets dominated the first half and made the most of their chances.
Babatunde Adepoju scored from the spot to give his team Nyasa Big Bullets the lead just after 13 minutes.
The penalty was awarded after Red Lions goalkeeper Jacob Kaunda fouled Babatunde in the box.
The towering hitman converted from the spot-kick by sending Kaunda the wrong way for his fifth goal of the season.
Bullets nearly doubled the lead in the 22nd minute. James Mwetse fouled Gomezgani Chirwa just outside the box, but Patrick Mwaungulu free-kick was well saved by Kaunda.
Red Lions made changes in the 32rd minute in a bid to boost their attacking prowess. They replaced Kariwo Harawa and Chikoti Chirwa with Royal Bokosi and Dunken Mwale, respectively.
But the move did not yield results as the vistors doubled the lead in the 45th minute.
After pep talk, Red Lions reorganised themselves, but their forwards lacked the killer punch.
In the 60th minute Bokosi justified his introduction with a powerful acrobatic effort, but the ball flew over the bar.
Red Lions coach Nelson Chirwa was gracious in defeat, but said the penalty had a psychological effect on his players.
“I think the early penalty given to Bullets deflated our players. It was a questionable penalty. But another factor was that we were not aggressive and were second on the ball. We tried to come back in the game in the second half but we just could not score,” he said.
Bullets assistant coach Peter Mponda applauded his charges.
“Overall, we did put up a decent performance and it was a great win. But I think we did not do a good job in the second half. We lost balls and the concentration and focus were not good enough. But we held on and that is what is important,” he said.
In another match, Sable Farming lost 2-0 to Moyale Barracks.
Sable now lie second from the bottom with five points from eight games.
TN Stars are bottom the table also with five points while Moyale are now with sixth position on 13 points from 11 games.
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