Nyasa Big Bullets reached the Airtel Top 8 final in style when they hit their age-old rivals Mighty Wanderers with a 4-1 deluge at Kamuzu Stadium in Blantyre on Saturday.
It was the proverbial story of the rejected stone turning to be the builders cornerstone when Babatunde Adepoju single-handedly dismantled the Lali Lubani Road boys with unprecedented haul of four goals.
He opened the floodgates in the 24th minute from a penalty after Wanderers captain handled in the penalty box.
But Wanderers equalised 10 minutes later through Vincent Nyangulu that settled the two sides to go for recess at par after a hard-fought end-to-end action.
However, Bullets did not take time to restore the lead as he scored barely 10 minutes into the half. The Nigerian striker extended the lead 3-1 in the 62nd minute and put the game beyond his former club’s comprehension with the fourth goal in the 77th minute.
Bullets coach Kallisto Pasuwa substituted him in the 80th minute as he has his eye on the final.
After match, Babatunde deservedly got the Man-of-Match Award complete with a trophy and K50,000 cash. This was the second for him to win the accolade after winning his first against Mafco in the team’s 3-1 first leg quarter-finals victory.
Reacting to the debacle, Wanderers captain Manyozo Jnr said they had put themselves under unnecessary pressure by conceding soft goals.
“We apologise to our fans for losing in this manner. We give them themselves,” he said.
Wanderers coach Bob Mpinganjira declined to comment on the loss as pressure continues to mount on his future at the club. This was their last hope to finish the season with a silverware.
Bullets assistant coach Peter Mponda was all praise for his charges.
“We prepared to win this game and we applaud the players for putting up a spirit performance. As I said, for us to win the cup we must beat the best teams that can come our way. We will continue working hard to achieve our goal of winning the cup,” he said.
Bullets face the winners between Silver Strikers and Civo United in another semi-finals slated for next Saturday while the final is scheduled for December 18.
