Morocco 4 (Bernadettar Mkandawire 40′ -OG, Sakina Ouzraoui 42′,8 Ibtissam Jraidi 56′, Kenza Chapelle 90+2′) -2 Malawi (Tabitha Chawinga 27′, Rose Kabzere 35′)
The Malawi National Women’s football team gave away a 2-0 lead to lose 4-2 to Morocco in an International friendly match at Kenitra Stadium in Casablanca on Thursday night.
This is the first time in history for the two teams to meet as the hosts prepare for the upcoming Women Africa Cup of Nations next month while Malawi prepare for the final round of next year’s WAFCON Qualifiers against Angola in October.
The Lovemore Fazili side went into the match with all the energy pressing the hosts from the first minute through Captain Tabitha Chawinga, Sabina Thom and Rose Kabzere and they won the first corner of the match which was later cleared by the defence.
As they continued to press in search for an opening goal, Chawinga was fouled by the goalkeeper in the box at 27 minutes, and she converted the penalty to make it 1-0.
Rose Kabzere doubled the lead just eight minutes later after being set by Tabitha Chawinga .
Morocco pulled one back through Bernadettar Mkandawire’s own goal as she was trying to clear the ball from the line at 40 minutes.
Three minutes later the hosts leveled through Sakina Ouzraou, making it two-all at recess.
The second half started with Morocco pressing for more goals, and the Scorchers kept playing in their own half until Idtissam scored the third goal for Morocco at 56 mins.
The Scorchers also had some scoring opportunities in the second half through Asimenye Simwaka and Tabitha Chawinga, but they were both denied the chance by Goalkeeper Khadija Errmichi.
Ibtissam Jraidi scored the fourth goal for the Atlas Lionesses in the additional time to give the hosts a 4-2 win.
Speaking after the match, Fazili said Morocco has given his side a good training match and there are a lot of lessons that the team will build on going into the next assignments.
“It was a fair game, and the players played well, especially in the first half where we managed to score two goals, though we also conceded two.
“In the second half, it was a different game. Our friends scored two goals while we missed a lot of chances. If we scored hose chances, the result could have been better.
“However, this was a good training for us, and there are a number of positives that we will take back home with. The chances that we had can turn into goals when properly utilised, and there are some improvements in the performances of some players, which is encouraging.
“During the game, we have noticed that the team had challenges in the midfield where we couldn’t mark the opponents, and we will have to work on this during our trainings,” said Fazili.
LINEUP: Mercy Sikelo (Yamikani Kaonga 63′), Faith Chimzimu, Rose Kabzere, Asimenye Simwaka, Sabina Thom, Tabitha Chawinga, Vanessa Chikupila (Chisomo Banda 75′), Letticia Chinyamula (Tendai Sani 58′), Ireen Khumalo (Olivia Phikani 75′), Rose Alufandika, Benadetta Mkandawire (Maureen Kenneth 64′)
