The Maravi Post

LILONGWE--Civo Service United striker Lazarus Cheraw, bagged two second half goals on Sunday to help his team earn valuable three points against TNM super league newcomer’s Bumble Research at Vivo Stadium.

With both teams looking set to get three points, they both played with determination however it was Civo which started knocking at Bvumbwe’s door as Lawrence ‘Teacher’ Mwehiwa and Lazarus Chirwa in the 15th minute played some great one-two passes which however breach Bvumbwe’s solid defense.

It took 21 minutes for Bvumbwe to pose a real threat to Civo when Sadick Ibrahim stormed the right flank and whipped a decent cross which beat the ’keeper but Stoka Munthali failed to simply tap it in.

Then the game looked like a 50-50 affair with both teams creating good chances but failed to convert them.

In the second stanza, Civo appeared to have come with new ideas as they possessed the ball more. Jabulani Linje was the first to fire at the goal in the 53rd minute with a long range effort but it went over the bar. It didn’t take long before Civo got rewarded for their efforts though Martin Masoatheka who delivered a delightful cross to Charles Ben who set Lazarus Chirwa to open the score sheet.

Bvumbwe reacted to the goal by bringing in Mayeso Mphanje, replacing with James Francis. Few minutes after the substitution Wisdom Mizeyi was presented with a golden opportunity to put his side on level terms but his shot was saved and the rebound found Vincent Chinthenga who fired in his seventh goal of the season.

With time running out, both teams tried to score but it was Civo which made it 2-1 in the 87th minute through Lazarus Chirwa.

After the game, Bvumbwe coach Bob Mpinganjira said his boys will learn from their mistakes.

“It was a good game, my boys played well but at the end of the day there’s one winner. We tried our best but it wasn’t enough. We’ll work on the mistakes,” he said.

Civo coach, Sir Alex Masanjala, was happy with the result but conceded it wasn’t easy.

“We have taken three points yes, but it was a tough game, they (Bvumbwe) have nice players and play good football. To my boys, I think it’s a big improvement to our striking force. Today they created some good chances and they were able to take them,” he said.

Civo’s victory takes them to position four on the log table with 11 points. Silver Strikers still lead with 12 points followed by Red Lions. Mighty Wanderers are on position three with 11 points.
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