Silver Strikers booked a semi-final berth against Mighty Mukuru Wanderers in the Airtel Top 8 Cup after beating Dedza 2-1 at Dedza Stadium Sunday. The Central Bankers advanced to the semi-finals 6-2 on aggregate following a 4-1 victory at Silver Stadium a fortnight ago. Silver and Wanderers are no strangers to each other in the competition, having met in 2017, 2019 and 2023.
However, statistics favour Silver in the competition, having eliminated Wanderers in all the previous meetings in the Airtel Top 8. The two teams met in the inaugural Airtel Top 8 final but Silver triumphed 10-9 on post-match penalties. Silver also beat Wanderers 2-0 on aggregate in the 2019 quarterfinals.
However, the Central Bankers progressed to the semi-finals through a boardroom decision after Wanderers lost home and away matches after Football Association of Malawi (Fam) threw out their appeal on both abandoned and boycotted matches. Against Dedza Sunday, Silver had the luxury of resting some of their key players as they were already in the comfort zone. It was Ibrahim Sadik who drew first blood in the 28th minute from the penalty spot after Maxwell Paipi was adjudged to have handled the ball in the box to give Dedza the lead.
Sensing danger, Silver Coach Peter Mponda introduced Chinsisi Maonga and Dan Sandukira for Duncani Nyoni and Emmanuel Muyira, respectively. But Dedza held on for the first half’s slender lead. After the break, Charles Chipala and Zebron Kalima came on for Paul Kansungwi and .
