Malawi Women’s National Football Team, the Scorchers, produced a historic performance to beat defending champions Nigeria 3-2 in a dramatic WAFCON Group C match at Al Madina Stadium on Tuesday night.
A brace from Temwa Chawinga and a goal from captain Tabitha Chawinga gave Malawi a memorable victory in their maiden appearance at the continental showpiece.
The first half ended goalless, with both teams pushing for an opener. Malawi defended with discipline and looked dangerous on the counterattack, with Temwa Chawinga and Faith Chinzimu testing the Nigerian defence.
The Scorchers finally broke the deadlock in the 75th minute when Temwa Chawinga finished off a quick attacking move to put Malawi 1-0 up.
Five minutes later, Tabitha Chawinga doubled the lead with a composed finish in the 80th minute as Malawi took control of the contest.
Nigeria pulled one back in the 90+3rd minute through Rasheedat Ajibade, who converted from the penalty spot to make it 2-1.
But Malawi responded almost immediately, with Temwa scoring her second of the match in the 90+5th minute to restore the Scorchers’ two-goal cushion.
Nigeria continued to push and grabbed another goal through Uchenna Kanu in the 90+9th minute, but the Scorchers held on to secure a famous 3-2 victory.
Scorchers head coach Lovemore Fazili praised his players for a brave and disciplined performance.
“The game was very good, an excellent game for that matter. The players played very well. They put in everything and showed that they are capable of delivering,” said Fazili.
“I am very happy with the performance. They did not underrate themselves because they knew there was something they had to show to Malawians.”
Fazili said the victory was important, but stressed that the team must remain focused as they still have two group matches to play.
“We are still fighting. We have two games to go, so this one is good. We have given this victory to Malawians and now we look ahead to Egypt and Zambia,” he said.
The coach also hailed the impact of Temwa and Tabitha, saying their presence gave Malawi the cutting edge in attack.
“They utilised the chances. We have beaten Nigeria and it is very important that these two sisters are in the team most of the time, together with the other players, so that we can continue doing well,” said Fazili.
He added that the team had worked hard on finishing after the friendly matches against Morocco and Ghana.
“After playing the two friendly matches against Morocco and Ghana, we went back to the drawing board and mainly focused on finishing. We did a lot of finishing and reminded the players,” he said.
“So the performance today and the scoring makes us happy. Even the players are happy with what they have shown today.”
The Scorchers will now shift focus to their remaining Group C matches against Egypt and Zambia.
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