Malawi’s Young Scorchers suffered a 1–2 home defeat to Burundi in the first leg of the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup qualifiers at Bingu National Stadium on Saturday, surrendering an early lead to hand the visitors a crucial advantage.
Playing in front of a passionate home crowd, Malawi made a bright start when Enelesi Fabiano opened the scoring in the 14th minute. However, Burundi responded strongly, equalising 11 minutes later before taking the lead five minutes into the second half.
Despite a spirited late push from the hosts, the visitors held firm to secure a vital away win, leaving Malawi with a one-goal deficit ahead of the return leg scheduled for 18 April in Burundi.
Head coach Chisomo Nkhoma admitted it was a disappointing result but remained confident of a comeback.
“It was a bad day for us because we were playing at home and had all the advantages. We started the game well, but it went the opposite way as we conceded two goals, which is now our disadvantage,” she said.
Looking ahead, Nkhoma stressed that the tie is still open.
“We are going to their home, which gives them an advantage, but we are not giving up. We know we still have a chance and we will go there to fight, win and score more goals,” she added.
The coach also highlighted areas that need improvement.
“Our opponents enjoyed more possession and used long balls effectively. We were second on the ball. We need to be more aggressive and improve our finishing because we were not clinical enough,” she said.
