Fight continues for Top 8 in Malawi’s TNM Super League

It’s sealed. Mighty Be Forward Wanderers are the 2017 TNM Super League champions, for the first time in 11 years, but the fight still continues for the teams to stay in the top eight so that they can participate in the lucrative Airtel Top 8 that signals the start of a new season since its inauguration at the beginning of this season.

So far the teams assured of participation in the Airtel Top 8 — whose inaugural champions are Silver Strikers — are the new champions Mighty Be Forward Wanderers, runners-up Nyasa Big Bullets, third-placed Silver Strikers, 4^th-placed Civil Sporting, Blue Eagles on 5^th and Mafco on 6^th.

Apart from that the two slots left can be taken by Moyale on 7^th place, Kamuzu Barracks on 8^th, Mzuni FC on 9^th and Red Lions on 10^th if they do well in their last games as well as if others drop points.

On 4^th position, Civil Sporting have 45 points with one game to wrap up their season while 5^th-placed Mafco have 43 and they are in Blantyre to wrap up their season with the match against  11^th-placed Azam Tigers at Chilomoni Stadium on Sunday.

Also on Sunday, Kamuzu Barracks meet Masters Security, a match both cannot afford to lose since the soldiers want to consolidate their position in the top eight while Masters will fight against relegation.

The 1-4 loss to Wanderers on Saturday at Balaka Ground that saw the Nomads clinch the TNM Super League title with a game in hand has put them in a precarious position since close on their heels to dispose them from position 13 are Wizards, who pounced on relegate Chitipa United 4-1 at Karonga Stadium on Saturday to close the points gap to one.

Wizards wrap up their season with a match against Moyale on Sunday — one that the soldiers from Kaning’ina can ill afford to lose also in their fight to remain in the top eight.

Masters cannot afford to be relegated from their debut appearance in the top flight league having taken a bold and an ambitious step by registering for the 2018 Confederation of African Football (CAF) Confederation Cup and were drawn against Atletico Petroleos of Angola in the preliminary round.

So, their two remaining adventure in the debut appearance is interesting and they surely will breathe a huge sigh of relief if Moyale do the damage for them by beating Wizards on Sunday.

All eyes were on Masters Security on Saturday to see if they can match their ambitious decision to join Africa’s elite by beating Wanderers and put spanners into the Nomads title campaign and hand fellow title contenders Nyasa Big Bullets some hope that should Wanderers also lose their last match against Red Lions after they win both their remaining matches, then they are the champions.

With four points ahead of their nearest contenders Nyasa Big Bullets, Wanderers just needed a win against Masters Security and they did in style to clinch the TNM Super League title that has eluded them for a decade.

Both Wanderers and Masters are in the CAF club championships with Wanderers registered in the Champions League and they date 2014 finalists AS Vita of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

If the Nomads will manage to sail through this tough preliminary round, their next opponents in the second round are winners between El Jadidi and Benefica while if Masters go past Atletico Petroleos they go on to meet South African side SuperSport in the next round.

Sharing is caring!