By Tione Andsen
New Comers, Dedza Dynamos Sunday booked themselves a place for 2022 Airtel Top 8 Cup after silencing Civo Service United at home with a 2-1 win.
With the win, the new kids on the block have moved to seventh position on the 16 team log table with 22 points from 15 games.
Karonga United have joined Dedza Dynamos in the Top 8 battle after claiming a 1-0 win over Ekwendeni Hammers played at Karonga Stadium.
Karonga United lost in the final of Airtel Top 8 Cup in 2019 against Silver Strikers and they waited patiently to receive the final call to join the rest of the teams.
Football Association of Malawi (FAM) had earlier indicated that the first round matches of TNM Super League matches will be used to make teams qualify for the 2022 Airtel Cup.
Since the launch of the Cup in 2017, participating teams were qualifying to play for the cup at the end of the season.
The qualification has proved to be tough which saw Moyale Barracks lying ninth, Civo Service United 10th , Red Lions 11th and Mighty Tigers 12th failing to make to the grades for the 2022 Airtel Top 8 Cup.
Moyale’s 5-1 win over Rumphi United did not help matters for them to be connected to be the top eight cream teams of the first round.
TN Stars which participated in the last edition have failed miserably to make it this time around as they are 15th on the log.
The top eight teams that have qualified are defending champions, Nyasa Big Bullets, Blue Eagles, Mighty Mukuru Wanderers, Silver Strikers, Kamuzu Barracks, Dedza Dynamos and Karonga United.
Last edition winners, Nyasa Big Bullets pocketed K 17.5 million and Silver Strikers remains the only team to have won the cup twice.
The closing of the first round matches saw 14th placed TN Stars beating second placed, Blue Eagles 1-0 in Kasungu.
They scored the lone goal though Alexander Cosmas.
The defeat has come at the time Blue Eagles had contributed three players, Sankhani Mkandawire, Micium Mhone and Schumacher Kuwali to the national football team the Flames for the 2022 COSAFA Cup in South Africa.
TN Stars are 14th, Sable Farming 15th and Rumphi United are anchoring the log table and they are relegation battle.
The second round of the TNM Super League is excepted to kick off on July 23, 2022 with Nyasa Big Bullets leaded the pack with 41 points from 15 games and have created a 11 points gap behind second placed Blue Eagles.