Surestream in dramatic win over Kabula Utd

There was just a minute left on added time and as their fans held their breath, FC Surestream struck a seemingly unlikely winner against Kabula United in a pulsating Southern Region Football Association (SRFA) League Premier Division thriller.

The 3-2 hard-fought victory over the determined Kabula at Surestream Stadium in Chilomoni Township in Blantyre opened a nine-point gap at the summit of the league following Max Bullets’ 0-1 loss to Ndirande Icons.

Relief was the prevalent emotion for Surestream’s technical director Peter Mponda who admitted that his side was out of sorts.

“We are lucky to get a win today, otherwise we did not deserve to win. I think we underrated Kabula, we did not give them respect and we nearly paid for that,” said Mponda after the match.

He also ruled out his team’s chances of winning the title and earning promotion into the flagship Super League based on their sterile performance during the weekend games.

“The league is getting hot by each passing week and we lack experience that can help us withstand the heat as the going gets tough. We also struggled to beat Bvumbwe Research on Saturday and that should give us plenty of food for thought going forward,” said Mponda.

Following the win, Surestream now have 81 points from 32 games, nine points ahead of Cobbe who thrashed Nchalo United 5-1 on the same afternoon. Max were relegated to third position as they tie on points with Cobbe, who, however, have a better goal difference.

The toast of the afternoon for the steamrolling Surestream was none other than their marksman and the league’s leading scorer Bernard Chamaimba who claimed a hat-trick. He struck the first just four minutes into the game, but Kabula cancelled the lead through Farook Kunje’s long range beauty.

The two teams were tied 1-all going into recess. Kabula then surged ahead through a penalty converted by Victor Kamwendo and as time ticked on, the stadium oozed anxiety until the 72nd minute when Chimaimba beat an ill-conceived off-side trap to level the scores.

Kabula’s coach Chrispin Mpesi blamed the loss on fatigue, saying: “I think we deserved to get a point from this match, but we lost concentration due to fatigue in the closing stages as we did not train the whole of last week.”