Be Forward Wanderers captain Alfred Manyozo Jnr and chairperson Gift Mkandawire say they did not have an ounce of luck when they were booted out of the Airtel Top 8 by their age-old rivals Nyasa Big Bullets on Saturday.
The People’s Team maintained their bragging rights over the Nomads in the latest episode of the Blantyre derby with a 2-1 victory at Bingu National Stadium in Lilongwe that propelled them to the finals.
Said Manyonzo: “We gave out our best and I believe we were the better side, but we just didn’t have the luck.
“It was painful considering the circumstances, but we will not give up. We will pick ourselves up and continue from where we stopped. There are two more cups coming up [Carlsberg and Fisd Challenge] and we have not yet given up on the [TNM Super League] title defence campaign”.
On his part, Mkandawire hailed his players for what he described as a ‘classic performance’.
He said: “We cannot blame the players, they were committed. Unfortunately, we dominated play, but in football it is goals that count.
“As I said, we are just going through a bad patch, but we will turn the corner and if we continue to play the way we did on Saturday, we will start winning.”
On his part, Bullets captain John ‘Kintu’ Lanjesi said he was excited with the win.
“It was a tough game, the secret behind our success was sticking to our game plan and in the end, we were rewarded,” he said.
Two second half goals from Bright Munthali (62nd minute) and Chiukepo Msowoya (69th minute) put the People’s Team in the comfort zone before substitute Zicco Mkanda pulled one back for the Nomads in the 83rd minute, but it was too little too late.
Bullets will face Blue Eagles in the finals on June 30.
