Songwe Border United forward Dickson Mwangonde-Mogha leads the NBS Bank National Division League Golden Boot race after scoring seven goals in the first round of Season Two.
Mwangonde-Mogha scored seven goals from 11 matches to finish the opening round ahead of Ntaja United’s Hussein Sanudi, who is second with six goals.
Three players are tied on five goals each. They are Phillip Mtika of Mzuzu City Hammers, Slay Anthony of Extreme FC and Emmanuel Munthali of Songwe Border United.
Alexander Cosmas of Namitete Zitha, Menard Magawa of Embangweni United, Steven Jafali of Chilobwe United and Sebastian Chinsomba of FOMO FC are all on four goals.
Munthali has also been influential in creating goals, registering five assists in the first round. He is followed by Songwe teammate Tendai Phiri, Changalume Barracks’ Blessings Malemia, Extreme FC’s Tonny Phiri and Ndirande Stars’ Coranzo Zonda, who have three assists each.
Songwe Border United and Mzuzu City Hammers finished the first round as the highest-scoring teams with 19 goals each. Extreme FC and Chilobwe United scored 16 goals apiece, followed by Embangweni United with 14 and Ndirande Stars with 12.
In terms of playing time, Changalume Barracks’ Watson Kondowe made the most appearances after clocking 1,014 minutes. Extreme FC duo Francis Pukusu and Joseph Banda followed with 1,003 minutes each, while Songwe’s Isaac Mhango played 990 minutes. Extreme’s Chifundo Ngonjera managed 986 minutes, with Ndirande Stars’ Aubrey Madongo Mwale recording 946 minutes.
Namitete Zitha were the most booked side in the first round after accumulating 20 yellow cards and one red card. Changalume Barracks and Mighty Tigers followed with 17 yellow cards each, while Extreme FC, FOMO FC, Ndirande Stars and Ntaja United had 15 yellow cards each.
Ntaja United had the highest number of red cards, with three players sent off. Mzuzu City Hammers had two red cards, while FOMO FC, Mighty Tigers, Songwe Border United, Chilobwe United, Extreme FC and Namitete Zitha each had one player sent off.
The first round, which concluded on 23 August, ended with Songwe Border United on top of the table on goal difference after finishing level on 25 points with Extreme FC.
Mzuzu City Hammers finished third with 20 points, level with fourth-placed Embangweni United, while Chilobwe United are fifth with 15 points.
Chilobwe are level on points with Namitete Zitha and Ntaja United, who are sixth and seventh respectively, while Ndirande Stars sit eighth with 14 points.
The bottom four heading into the second round are FOMO FC, who are ninth with 12 points, Mighty Tigers in 10th with nine points, Bangwe All Stars in 11th with six points and Changalume Barracks at the bottom with four points.
Of the bottom four teams, FOMO FC and Bangwe All Stars featured in the inaugural season, while Changalume Barracks joined the league after winning promotion from the Eastern Region League.
Mighty Tigers, who were relegated from the top flight, face a tough second round as they look to move out of the relegation zone and avoid another demotion.
At the top, the leading five teams are all new contestants in the NDL. Songwe Border United and Mzuzu City Hammers joined the second-tier league after being relegated from the top flight, while Extreme FC, Embangweni United and Chilobwe United earned promotion from the regional leagues.