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| Sports |
| Weaker ones clash as Bakili Bullets host fellow king makers |
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by
Garry Chirwa, 06 August 2004
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15:55:26
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Others stumble and fall by the wayside but Bakili Bullets have sworn to cling to survival by the skin of their teeth in the Group A Caf Champions League when they engage Ivory Coast’s Africa Sport in a weaker parties’ combat scheduled for the giant Chichiri Stadium on Sunday.
The two teams are ranked king makers in their respective groups in which they have lost two games each leaving defending champions Enyimba of Nigeria and Etoile Sahel of Tunisia to call the shots in the group without hardly breaking sweat.
The Bullets, all conquering on the local scene, lost their first game 1-0 to Etole du Sahel through a painful late strike at home before a 6-0 comprehensive demolition at the hands of Enyimba in Aba, Nigeria, while the Ivorians were overwhelmed 3-0 by Enyimba in their opening game and were licked 3-1 by the Tunisians from the Arab region.
The Aba catastrophe left the Bullets with a whole mountain to climb and their chances of winging into the semis are now a pipedream but the people’s team insist they will have slender chances of making it if they can bring the Ivorians to their knees.
Bullets’ head coach Kinnah ‘Electric’ Phiri said his troops have let slip the Aba wreckage from their memory and their minds are now firmly focused on tomorrow’s contest—well he must have found the right words to pick up his distraught players.
“This is a different game altogether and we are hoping to get our first full points on Sunday. Of course, this is the first time we have reached this stage and it is a good learning process.
“But I still insist that scoreline in Enyimba did not reflect what exactly went on the pitch. They might be a big team but they were helped by the wet conditions of the pitch,” said Kinnah, his voice straining with emotion.
He also appealed to the soccer fraternity to throng the stadium and give their team a big push in their quest for first full points.
But the Bullets mentor said he was likely to miss four key players in Sunday’s showdown which he said is likely to affect the team especially the rearguard.
Defenders Wisdom Ndlovu and Chiku ‘Jet Lee’ Kanyenda, flying winger Emmanuel ‘Eke’ Chipatala and Jimmy Zakazaka are very doubtful starters but the Bullets mentor stressed that he is not in a cold sweat.
“Wisdom, Chiku and Jimmy are nursing injuries while Chipatala is recovering from malaria but we have replacements to carry the burden,” said Kinnah.
Goal tender Swadick Sanudi who let in half a dozen goals against Enyimba stated yesterday that he has recovered from the humiliation and is ready to guard the posts jealously on Sunday.
Captain Peter ‘Mjojo’ Mponda, the Bullets’ heartbeat whose standards have often belonged to another planet, also assured that they will give their best shot against Africa Sport and they will go for their throats from the word go to wipe out the sour memories of Aba.
“We will not go horribly wrong again on Sunday, we will certainly give out our best. I think if we can get a win in our group then there can be no better team than Africa Sport,” said the outspoken captain who is expected to team up with long-forgotten Joseph Gatros at the heart of the defence with Maupo Msowoya and Petrus Mwalweni guarding the flanks.
Questions have been asked about the Bullets’ finishing prowess in recent games after some uncharacteristic lapses but Kinnah assured that apart from Zakazaka all his other sophisticates— Grant Lungu, Mapopa Musukwa, Dick Malidadi and Ganizani Malunga are now in shape.
He will also have the luxury to choose the duo to keep the engines running at the heart of the pitch among James Chilapondwa, the terminator, exciting Rahim ‘Raul’ Ishmail, Robert ‘Baggio’ Ng’ambi and willing worker Fundi Akidu.
Africa Sport who arrived in the country on Thursday, also said they are looking forward to their first win.
Their French coach Richard Tardy said his team is aware of the Bullets hungry for victory.
“We have both not won any game and this match is very crucial for both teams. Any team that wins today will have a chance to contest for the first two positions but it will not be all that easy.
“And it is always a disadvantage when you play away but we want the three points badly and we have got to get them otherwise we might as well forget,” said Tardy who has brought a predominantly youthful but skilful squad which includes Olympic team internationals Nije Aristide and Laby.
On Saturday it will be the clash of the giants when Sahel host Enyimba in Tunis in another group A match. Both teams have six points from two games but the latter has a better goal difference.
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