…………as Ekhaya challenge Wanderers in Airtel Top 8 Cup final

Ekhaya Football Club have challenged to give Mighty Wanderers Football Club a tough run for their money when they face off in the final of the Airtel Top 8 Cup.

The Airtel Top 8 Cup final will, for the first time since it was launched in 2017, be without either Silver Strikers and FCB Nyasa Big Bullets, as Madolo-wa anaduka. Silver, the two-time winners were booted out by Karonga United while Bullets, the four time winners were shown an exit door by Ekhaya FC.

The Cowboys have promised to become new madolo as their head coach, Enos Chatama, during the press conference on Saturday, promised to give Wanderers a good game.

“I can say that we are ready for the game. This is the first cup final for the team since it got promoted to the elite league,” Chatama said. “We are ready to give them a tough run for their money — as you know, there is no other game after this one. Whoever wins it has won it, and whoever loses it has lost it.”

Mighty Wanderers are chasing their second Airtel Top 8 title, having lifted the trophy in 2022, while Ekhaya are hoping to make history by becoming only the second team ever to win the competition on their maiden appearance — a feat last achieved by Silver Strikers, who claimed the inaugural title back in 2019.

Wanderers head coach Bob Mpinganjira said his side are wary of a tough test but are focused on winning.

“It is a rare moment that comes once in a while, so we need to work hard so that we do better,” Mpinganjira said. “There’s no friendship in football, we just need to fight because we want to win it.”

Mpinganjira added that he expects Ekhaya to have improved significantly since their previous meetings, and said he hopes the final is settled inside normal time rather than going to penalties, which he described as “a lottery.”

Ekhaya’s march to the final has been the standout story of this year’s competition. In the quarterfinals, they eliminated defending champions FCB Nyasa Big Bullets in dramatic fashion — both legs of the tie finished 1-1, sending the contest to post-match penalties, where Ekhaya prevailed 7-6 to knock out the Airtel Top 8 specialists.

They followed that up with a 2-1 win over Karonga United in the semifinal to book their historic first appearance in the final.

Wanderers, by contrast, have relied on the composure of a squad built around cup pedigree. Their quarterfinal campaign began with a 2-0 first-leg win over Creck Sporting Club, courtesy of goals from Blessings Mwalilino and Lameck Mithi, before a 1-1 draw in the return fixture sealed a 3-1 aggregate victory.

In the semifinal against Blue Eagles, Wanderers took an early lead through Lameck Mithi’s fourth-minute penalty, only for Blue Eagles to level matters through Christian Maluwa’s own spot-kick in the 27th minute. With neither side able to find a winner, the tie went to penalties, where Wanderers eventually prevailed 5-4 in the shootout.