Defending champions, Ascent Academy, and Kukoma Ntopwa Queens Football Club have secured their places in the semifinals of the Goshen City FAM National Championship after hard-fought victories in their quarterfinals ties on Monday at Mpira Stadium.
Ascent Academy displayed dominance with an emphatic 4-0 win over MK Academy in the early kickoff, while Ntopwa Queens staged a dramatic comeback to edge out their arch-rivals, FCB Nyasa Big Bullets Women’s Team, with a 2-1 victory in the late fixture.
Chimzimu’s heroics crush MK Academy’s hope
Malawi Women’s National Team forward, Faith Chimzimu, stole the show with a stunning hat-trick, inspiring Ascent Academy to a commanding victory as they kicked off their title defense in emphatic fashion.
Heading into the quarterfinal match, Thom Mkolongo’s side knew they had a tough task ahead, as MK Academy had proven to be a formidable team in the Northern Region Women’s Football League, finishing second behind champions Moyale Barracks Sisters.
The opening half was a balanced contest, with both teams matching each other pound-for-pound. However, Ascent managed to break the deadlock just before halftime when Alephar Chimbeta found the back of the net in the 43rd minute, giving the defending champions a 1-0 advantage at the break.
The second half belonged to Faith Chimzimu, who put on a clinic in finishing. She doubled the lead in the 56th minute, before scoring again in quick succession in the 61st and 63rd minutes, sealing Ascent’s dominant 4-0 victory.
With this win, Ascent Academy progresses to the semifinals, where they will face another Lilongwe-based club, either Silver Strikers Ladies or Civo Women’s Team, who clash in another quarterfinal on Today.
Ntopwa stages a remarkable comeback to eliminate Bullets Women
In the second quarterfinal of the day, Kukoma Ntopwa Queens showed resilience and determination, coming from behind to knock out FCB Nyasa Big Bullets Women’s Team with a 2-1 victory in a tightly contested match.
The game started at a high tempo, with Bullets Women’s Team grabbing an early lead in the 12th minute, courtesy of Shira Dimba, who capitalized on a defensive lapse to put her side ahead.
However, Jomo Osman’s side responded swiftly, equalizing just 11 minutes later through Esther Chauluka, who finished off a well-worked attacking move to restore parity at 1-1.
The two Southern Region giants went into the halftime break level, but Ntopwa Queens came out stronger in the second half. Their persistence paid off just minutes after the restart, when Kondwani Banda struck to put them 2-1 ahead.
Despite Bullets Women’s Team pushing for an equalizer in the closing stages, Ntopwa’s defense held firm to secure the victory and book their spot in the semifinals.
Jomo Osman, Ntopwa Queens Coach was happy with the win. He said, “We have a youthful squad while Bullets have a team with full of experience.
“We told the players to play our game and they followed the instructions. We had some chances that could have seen us winning the game with a different margin but I understand my players. Bullets Women’s Team usually beat us and today, it was just about winning the game, I’m happy that we have won the game.”
Bullets Women’s Team Head Coach, Maggie Chombo said the team created chances but they failed to utilize them.
“It was a good game, we created several chances but we failed to take them. Maybe complacency has haunted us. We talked about it in our training, they [players] tried but it wasn’t just our day,” she said.
They will now face the winner between Moyale Barracks Sisters and Topik Sisters, who meet in another exciting quarterfinal battle on Today at the same venue.
With Ascent Academy and Ntopwa Queens already in the last four, attention now shifts to the remaining quarterfinals, where Silver Strikers Ladies face Civo Women’s Team, and Moyale Barracks Sisters take on Topik Sisters.
