Two Derbies kick off the 2nd round of the National Bank of Malawi (NBM) Premiership when 5th-placed FCB Nyasa Big Bullets visit Kukoma Ntopwa on Saturday at Mpira Stadium, while leaders Silver Strikers Ladies host MDF Lionesses on Sunday at Silver Stadium.
Silver Strikers lead the inaugural women’s football league with 27 points, having ended the first round with a perfect winning record. They are 12 points clear of MDF Lionesses, who sit third with 15 points from four wins and three draws.
Second-placed Ascent Soccer, who have 20 points from six wins, two draws, and one loss, will travel north to face bottom-placed Topik Academy, who have collected just two points from two draws.
The Blantyre derby between Kukoma Ntopwa and FCB Nyasa Big Bullets promises to be another thrilling encounter. The two sides are separated by a single point, with Bullets on 14 and Ntopwa on 13. Both teams ended the first round with 1-1 draws — Ntopwa against Ascent Soccer and Bullets against Civil Service Women.
Mighty Wanderers Queens also sit on 14 points but are in fifth position on goal difference. They will host eighth-placed Moyale Sisters, who have five points, in an early kickoff at Mpira Stadium at 11:00.
Civil Service Women, currently seventh with 10 points, will host ninth-placed MK Academy, who have four points, at Civo Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
The second round also resumes the race for the Golden Boot, led by Silver Strikers’ prolific forward Deborah Henry, who has scored 14 goals in nine matches. She is six goals ahead of Ascent Soccer’s striker Mayamiko Mkandawire, who has eight.
Another Ascent Soccer star, Leticia Chinyamula, follows with six goals, while Mighty Wanderers’ Tawina Kawaga and Kukoma Ntopwa’s Kondawo Banda both have five. MDF Lionesses’ duo Asimenye Simwaka and Sabina Thom, FCB Nyasa Big Bullets’ Vanessa Issa, and Moyale Sisters’ Maureen Phiri all have four goals each.
Ascent Soccer midfielder Alephar Chimbeta leads the assists chart with four, underlining her creativity and influence in midfield.
The first round produced 127 goals from 45 matches, with Silver Strikers leading the scoring charts with 28 goals. A record 17 goals were scored in the final week, the highest in a single match week so far.
Top scorer Deborah Henry ended the first round in style, netting four goals in Silver’s 7-0 win over MK Academy, a performance that earned her the Player of the Match award for the fifth time this season.
Her outstanding form also caught the attention of the Malawi Scorchers’ technical panel, who included her in the 32-member provisional squad for the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) qualifiers against Angola. Although she missed the final squad, the Scorchers went on to make history by qualifying for their first-ever WAFCON finals.
