Silver, Karonga tussle for Airtel Money

The Airtel Top 8 final beckons as Silver Strikers and Karonga United clash at Bingu National Stadium.

In stature and significance, the match equates to the battle of Elah Valley, that biblical clash between Goliath, a giant Philistine and David, an underdog Israelite.

Silver, like the frightening Goliath, have a spear, sword and javelin while Karonga United, the presumed little known David, hold in their tiny hands a sling and stone.

Whether this seemingly tricky fixture will end in favour of the underdogs just as in the Old Testament tale, the 90 minutes of play will tell.

One thing that is very clear though is that Silver have an edge.

They have an exceptional technical panel led by Young Chimodzi and Lovemore Fazili as coach; there is depth in their squad and they have a history of success too.

If the Bankers bank this one, it will be their second Airtel title in three years. How beautiful will that be to their fans?

But this tournament, for a fact, has defied all odds and logic.

From the collapse of giants Be Forward and Civil Sporting Club to Karonga’s unprecedented rise, there can always be room for a final twist this afternoon.

And Silver confess that this match will barely be a stroll in the park.

“We are very cautious,” said team manager Itaye Nundwe. “If Karonga reached the final, it means they are good enough to win it.”

That said, it is Silver who negotiated a thornier path than their opponents. Having defeated mighty Wanderers 2-0 on aggregate in the quarter-final, they had to labour to a 1-0 victory over Carlsberg Cup holders Masters Security in the semi-finals.

“It has been a difficult campaign. We are proud to be here and the prospect of winning it twice is a massive motivation,” Nundwe said.

Certainly, Karonga do not possess the classy players such as striker Michael Tetteh, defender Herbert Wayekha and winger Duncan Nyoni.

And, by all accounts, nobody gave the Ingwina a chance to finish in the Super League top 8 and qualify for the tournament, let alone reach this far.

Yet, somehow they found their way past TN Stars and later Mzuni who they defeated in the semis through penalties.

So, there they are, competing in their maiden national tournament final and standing a chance to win the K15 million grand prize.

That is football. As the old saying has it, it is an unpredictable game.

It is probably from that unpredictability that Karonga coach Dan Dzinkambani thinks his side can go all the way to lift the trophy.

“Our focus is to win the trophy and that is going to happen,” he said.