Phiri Jnr inspires Baroka to victory
Flames midfielder Gerald Phiri Junior on Tuesday became the second Malawian international to score in the 2019/20 South Africa Premier Soccer League when his lone strike earned Baroka FC a 1-0 triumph over hosts Bidvest Wits.
This was Baroka’s first win of the season after starting their campaign with a two-all draw with Cape Town City at home.
The development comes a few days after his compatriot Frank ‘Gabadinho’ Mhango scored in his debut appearance to help Orlando Pirates grab a 3-1 victory over Bloemfontein Celtic on Saturday.
According to a match report on www.kickoff.com, Phiri Jnr’s well-taken free-kick was all that the Bakgaka needed to get their first full points away.
“Bakgaka stunned the hosts with a sweetly taken free-kick from Gerald Phiri Junior on 42 minutes after Thabang Monare was adjudged to have handled the ball outside of the area, although the replays suggested otherwise,” the report explained.
Phiri Jnr said it felt great to have registered his first league goal of the season.
His Malawian team-mate striker Richard Mbulu could have made it 2-0 for Baroka had his attempt not been denied by the side-netting in the 58th minute.
“The visiting side pushed towards a second 58 minutes in, but Mbulu shot against the top of the side-netting from a side-way delivery,” the report stated.
In an interview Flames coach Meke Mwase said he is happy to see that foreign-based professionals are scoring. “As we all know, scoring has been a big problem for the national team. If national team players can score at their clubs what can stop them from scoring for the national team,” he said.
