Wa Ganyu
By the time referee Easter Zimba blew the final whistle, Mighty Wanderers players were crestfallen. The fans fell silent, and for those who could react, there were only tears.
Some players broke down, Wallace Adam, cried as if there was a funeral, and it was the same with man of the match Blessings Singini. It had to take the comfort of team officials and friends who knew too well the pain of coming so close only to fall short, a feeling Wanderers have experienced many times in recent years.
Timothy Siwilmba had his mouth open, just as Emmanuel Nyirenda who had his hands up. Peter Cholopi had his eyes closed, then a dramatic pose of Stanley Sanudi. All trying to make sense of the drama that unfolded at Bingu.
This time, hopes were higher. Reaching their first-ever FDH Bank Cup final had many dreaming of glory. But, as fate would have it, the Nomads’ fairy tale ended the way Wanderers stories have often done in recent years, in heartbreak, leaving their fans in tears and questions, ‘why us?’.
After 90 minutes, a 1–1 draw, and what felt like endless penalties, they somehow managed to lose 5–4 to Silver Strikers.
The Nomads, fresh from morale—boosting semi-final victory, and a league baptism over their arch-rivals FCB Nyasa Big Bullets, looked set to claim their first FDH Bank Cup title.
Instead, ‘Angelezi’, as they are fondly called by their club President Thomson Mpinganjila, saw their hopes dashed at Bingu National Stadium. The opening 30 minutes of the game did provide hope for the Nomads.
Wanderers took the lead after 24 minutes when Blessings Singini rose highest to head home a corner at the near post. The goal, assisted by Isaac Kaliati energised the Lali Lubani outfit, who dominated possession and would have been in their right to extend their lead.
Sadly, they never created another chance on target.
Trailing at half-time, Silver Strikers made two substitutions, with Charles Chipala and Chinsisi Maonga replacing Dan Sandukira and Ernest Petro.
From there, it was game on as the Bankers pressed hard for an equaliser. A couple of missed chances by Andrew Joseph got forgiven in the 75th minute when Maxwell Paipi converted from the penalty spot after Wanderers conceded a handball inside the box.
The match remained deadlocked at full time, sending the final into penalties where Bankers found it easy on 5-4 victory. Paipi, Innocent Shema, Binwell Katinji, Maonga and Mwase all converted for Silver Strikers, securing their second FDH Bank Cup title, having also won the inaugural competition in 2021.
Wanderers scored through Isaac Kaliati, Singini, Clement Nyondo and Nyirenda.
The victory also brought redemption for Silver’s Peter Mgangira who had earlier fallen short in this year’s Airtel Top 8 competition.
Penalties:
Wanderers: Kaliati (score), Singini (score), Nyondo (score),Sanudi (miss), Nyirenda (score), Dalitso Khungwa (miss), Masiya Manda (miss), Peter Cholopi (miss), Timothy Silwimba (miss).
Silver Strikers: Emmanuel Allan (miss), Maxwell Paipi (score), Innocent Shema (score), Binwell Katinji (score), Maonga (score), MacDonald Lameck (miss), Charles Chipala (miss), George Chikooka (miss), Nickson Mwase (score).
