Referee Escapes Beating as Eagles Cruise to FDH Round of 16

By Romeo Umali–LILONGWE

Referee Mercy Kaira nearly got beaten up when she blew the final whistle announcing that Blue Eagles were through to the FDH Cup Round of 16 after a 2-1 win against Red Lions at Nankhaka Stadium on Tuesday..

The visitors were the first to score on 35th minute of the first half through Humphrey Milanzi after poor defending by the Area 30 side.

But Eagles rarely used midfielder, Tonic Viyuyi equalized on the 64th minute of the second half; making the game more open to both sides.

When it seemed like the game was heading towards a tie and penalties, Eagles defender Sankhani Mkandawire netted the winning goal in the dying minutes through a corner assist by Richard Rapson.

But the Zomba based soldiers bayed for referee Kaira’s blood. They almost betrayed by their painful exit from the Cup. Kaira should thank stadium security personnel that whisked her away to Eagles dressing room.

Red Lions officials were too bitter to even grant any interviews to the sports journalists. In fact, they even threatened some of the journalists.

However, Eagles mentor, Eliya Kananji pledged to correct identified errors during the match to maintain their winning ways.

“We conceded a silly goal and soon after the break I told the boys not to lose hope. We then changed a lot in the second half. We will continue fielding players based on performance and not names,” he said.

Elsewhere, Ekwendeni Hammers are also through after defeating Airborne Rangers 3-1 in a game played at Dedza Stadium.