Chitipa United Dominates Eleven Champions in Castel Challenge Cup
Rumphi, Malawi — Chitipa United exhibited a dominating performance against non-league side Eleven Champions from Nkhata Bay, securing a 7-0 victory to advance to the Castel Challenge Cup round of 32. The match took place on Friday at Rumphi Stadium, writes Victor Musongole.
The scoring spree began with a well-placed free-kick from Glem Lamela that found Dumisani Jere inside the box. Jere capitalized on the opportunity, beating Eleven Champions' goalkeeper Marko Banda just 14 minutes into the game.
Two minutes later, Jere struck again after Eleven Champions' defense experienced a communication breakdown.
He completed his hat-trick in the added minutes of the first half with a thunderous shot, propelling Chitipa to a commanding 3-goal lead.
Despite their goal-scoring prowess, Chitipa United appeared somewhat uncoordinated during the first half, which gave Eleven Champions some respite.
In the second half, Eleven Champions attempted to regain their footing, but they struggled to contain Chitipa's counterattacks through the wings and precise through balls.
Bright Masebo extended Chitipa's lead just 9 minutes into the second half, with additional goals coming from substitutes Mabuchi Msiska and Rajab Nyirenda.
Stain Patrick also contributed to the scoreline with a penalty after an Eleven Champions defender handled the ball inside the box, bringing the final score to 7-0 in favour of Chitipa United.
Although Eleven Champions had several shots on goal, they were unable to breach Andrew Mtimkhulu's goal.
Peter Lisungu, the Coach of Eleven Champions, acknowledged the defeat and attributed it to his players' fear factor.
He said, "My players struggled to play today; they were afraid to play against a Super League side, hence conceding those goals. But we have learned something."
Macdonald Mtetemera, the Coach for Chitipa United, deemed the win crucial and indicated that his tactics worked well despite coordination issues.
He commented, "Yes, we had a good game today; we scored goals but we struggled with coordination because we made a lot of changes in our usual starting eleven. We will work on our mistakes in today's game."
Chitipa United's victory propels them into the round of 32, where they are scheduled to face the winner between Red Devils of Likoma and Mzalangwe of Mzimba.