Mighty Mukuru Wanderers on Sunday beat Bangwe All Stars 1-0 in the Airtel Top 8 Zamadolo quarter-finals first leg at Kamuzu Stadium in Blantyre.
At Karonga Stadium, Chitipa United stunned Kamuzu Barracks of Lilongwe 2-0 to put themselves on course for the semi-finals.
Striker Trouble Kajani scored both goals in the 54th and 70 minutes.
At Kamuzu Stadium Stars opted for a defensive approach match in coach Trevor Kajawa’s first match in charge following his appointment two weeks ago.
The seasoned gaffer replaced former FCB Nyasa Bullets coach Rodgers Yasin, whose services were terminated due to the team’s poor performance in the top-flight TNM Super League where they are in the relegation zone.
As Bangwe were hoping to tame the Nomads, they conceded a penalty in the 45th minute and Isaac Kaliati made no mistake to put his team in the lead.
In the second half, Bangwe were reorganised and took the game to the Lali Lubani Road boys in a desperate attempt to salvage a positive result to no avail.
In a post-match interview, Wanderers caretaker coach Meck Mwase rued the missed opportunities.
“We played very well. We should have won the match by a wide margin if we scored from the chances we created, especially in the first half. In the second half, we knew that they would come hard on us,” he said.
On the other hand, Kajawa took positives from the result, saying: “It was a game of two halves. Wanderers played well in the first half, but we planned to shut them down. It was unfortunate that we conceded that penalty towards the end of the first half.”
In Karonga Speaking in a post-match interview, Chitipa United coach Christopher Nyambose hailed his charges for their fighting spirit.
“It was a good game. The boys displayed maturity at the ball and no wonder we got the win. We will keep the momentum high so that we should also do well in the second leg and other games ahead,” he said.
On the other hand, Kamuzu Barracks coach Charles Kamanga conceded defeat, saying they did not play as a team.
“We did not play as a team, Chitipa was a better side and used the home ground advantage and deserved the win. The battle is not over, we will prepare well for the next meeting,” he said.
The second legs will be played on September 28.
On Saturday, defending champions FCB Nyasa Bullets triumphed 2-0 over the Civil Sporting Club at Kamuzu Stadium.
In the semi-final, the winner between Bullets and Civil will face the victor from Chitipa and Kamuzu Barracks match while the winner between Wanderers and Bangwe face Silver Strikers or Dedza Dynamos who will play on Wednesday.
