Blue Eagles football club dropped points for a straight seventh time in the 2023 TNM Super League after a 0-1 loss against Moyale Barracks on Saturday at Nankhaka stadium in Lilongwe.
Blue Eagles had the an upper hand in the entire first half as they created many chances which they failed to utilize.
Moyale Barracks were first to create a clear scoring chance after 17 minutes when Raphael Phiri was found unmarked in the box after receiving a long ball from his goalkeeper but his attempt went over the bar.
Despite winning much of the possession in the first half but it took alot of time for the hosts to create their first big chance after a goal-bound shot by Schumacher Kuwali was blocked when Moyale Barracks goalie Jeremiah Simfukwe was already beaten.
Thereafter, the Eagles found another great opportunity on the 41st minute through Kuwali again whose shot was well saved by Simfukwe.
Five minutes later, Chikondi Mvula fed Kuwali inside the six yard but again he missed as he pounced the ball over the bar.
Goaless it ended in the first half.
The second half started on a slow pace but after a number of changes on the part of Moyale Barracks, they raises their momentum and started piling pressure on Blue Eagles.
The Lions of Kaning’ina broke the deadlock after 65 minutes when substitutes Prince Phiri and Chifundo Damba combined well before Damba slotted the ball into the back of the net.
Blue Eagles almost equalized seven minutes later through Chikondi Mvula who was found in a one on one situation but before releasing shot he was brought down by Maneno Nyoni, an incident that led to a red card.
Despite the one man advantage in the final 15 minutes, the Eagles failed to equalize and the visitors clung to the 1-0 lead until full time.
The results means Blue Eagles have now gone seven league games without a win as their last win was recorded back on 24th June when they defeated MAFCO FC at Chitowe Stadium.
Speaking after the match, Blue Eagles assistant coach Christopher Sibale was disappointed with the result.
“It’s scary now that we are dropping points and we are stuck in the relegation zone but we will sit down and discuss to map the way forward”, he said.
His counterpart Nicholas Mhango described the win as important to his team in a fight against relegation.
“This is a very important win to us, before this game we were just 2 points above Blue Eagles but we have moved to a safer place” said Mhango
The Eagles have now dropped down from 14th to 15th on standings with 17 points from 18 games while Moyale Barracks have climbed two steps from 10th to eighth with 22 points from 17 games.
