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Belief is the name of the game and Bakili Bullets’ ghost busters will have to slip into cruise control from the word go on Saturday afternoon at Chichiri Stadium when they engage regional powerhouse Orlando Pirates in a make-or-break Caf Champions League second round, return leg in their search for holy grail.
Belief brings confidence and this, in turn, nurtures success and although the South African top flight outfit has an ace up its sleeve following their 2-1 first leg victory in Port Elizabeth a fortnight ago, the Bullets strongly believe their window of opportunity to wing into the league phase of this elite continental showcase, is still there.
There is a scary US $250,000 (about K27,250,000) on the cards should the Bullets sail through to the league stage and you certainly cannot turn a blind eye to such kind of dough.
But it will not be easy for the people’s team, they have a mountain to climb and they will need a shot of something in the nerves to wear down Pirates who won the showpiece nine years ago.
Captain Peter ‘Mjojo’ Mponda and his troops will have to play out of their skins, they will have to go into the stadium seething with passion, hope and expectation in order to sweep aside the Buccaneers.
The Bullets are a goal down but if there is something special about this side, then it is their never-say-die spirit—a rare quality that enables them to rise from the ashes and makes them such a dangerous force when the odds are heavily stacked against them.
It is that quality that saw them hit an important away goal in the first leg just when it appeared all over.
Their coach Kinnah ‘Electric’ Phiri said from Mulanje on Thursday afternoon that there is no rush of blood ahead of this afternoon’s contest, adding his boys are looking forward to the game with some degree of confidence.
“The players minds are clear, nobody is panicking, they have a healthy appetite for the battle, we have done all we could and the players are hungry—hungry for success...I have never seen such hunger before,” said Kinnah.
The well versed coach could not be drawn to comment on their plans for the showdown saying “It’s a bold plan and we want to take them by surprise with an unsuspected jab...we have a secret mission for them.”
He said the Bullets will prove that they were not in Mulanje to enjoy the beautiful scenery of the tallest mountain in Central Africa. Neither were they having a good time, munching bananas and pineapples.
All the players appeared to be in fluent mood on arrival from Mulanje on Friday and the usually upbeat Mponda said: “We’ll fight to the last whistle, we are geared for the battle.”— sweet words indeed for the 50,000 plus fans who are expected to throng the giant stadium.
Mponda, a flashy performer whose blend of skill, intelligence and industry has been the heartbeat of the Bullets’ exploits, will as usual be the guiding light and will form the solid back four along with Wisdom Ndlhovu, Petrus Mwalweni and Maupo Msowoya while Chiku Kanyenda will lay in wait.
In Port Elizabeth, the talk was about winger Fischer ‘Anong’a’ Kondowe who mesmerised the crowd with his dynamic forward surges and devastating crosses—they should be on show again while Ganizani ‘M’bobo’ Malunga who turned on the magic when he came in as a second half substitute, is likely to get the nod ahead of Emmanuel ‘Eke’ Chipatala.
Grant Lungu and Jimmy Zakazaka are a duo blessed with sublime talent but unfortunately they have not meshed potently. May be Kinnah and Gilbert Chirwa have worked out something this time around? Let us wait and see.
Willing workers Fundi Akidu and the terminator James Chilapondwa will do the donkey work at the heart of the pitch.
There was no supernatural performance from Pirates in Port Elizabeth but they can turn on the heat this afternoon and one slip by the Bullets could prove fatal..
Their dangerous weapons are flying winger Joseph Makhanya and predator Bennedict Vilakazi.
The Buccaneers also have a pair of safe hands in goalkeeper Thabang Radebe who denied the Bullets would-be goals with some stomach-turning saves and was named man-of-the-match.
Seasoned coach Yasin ‘Teacher’ Osman said on Friday that the Bullets still have good chances to qualify and cannot be ruled out at this stage.
“I would say it’s 50-50 but it will depend on their approach, they shouldn’t hurry things, they shouldn’t play under unnecessary pressure but they will need to get an early goal and they should not allow Pirates to settle down and play their game,” said Osman.
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