A dozen for desert girls
Monday was a good day for both Malawi women’s Under-17 football and Under-19 netball teams at the expense of their Namibian opponents at the ongoing African Union Sports Council Region Five Youth Games in Lilongwe.
In netball, Malawi beat Namibia 42-39 at the Griffin Saenda Indoor Sports Complex whereas in football Malawi thumped the Namibians 12-0.
In football, captain Rose Kabzere led by example in the demolition of Namibia at Bingu National Stadium.
She drew first blood in the 23rd minute and Malawi led 1-0 going into recess.
The hosts upped the tempo in the second half, the Namibians looked bemused and conceded six goals within a space of 15 minutes.
Faith Chinzimu scored the second four minutes after recess and a minute later, Kabzere made it three for the home team and a brace for herself.
Chikondi Mgodi made it 4-0 with a fine strike in the 53rd minute.
Kabzere bagged a hat-trick in the 55th minute as Malawi run amok.
Chinzimu made it 6-0 three minutes later. And Kabzere wasn’t done yet as she claimed her fourth and Malawi’s seventh in the 59th minute.
Then it was Chinzimu’s turn to claim a hat-trick in the 63rd minute with no resistance from Namibia.
Kabzere then scored her fifth goal and the Junior Scorchers’ ninth in the 65th minute.
She was replaced to a standing ovation in the 70th minute by Annie Baziliyo.
Leticia Chinyamula made it 10-0 in the 79th minute.
In the 82nd minute, Chinzimu scored the 11th goal for Malawi to take her tally for the the day to four.
Baziliyo completed the humiliation with six minutes to full time.
Kabzere was deservedly named player-of-the-match.
During a post-match press conference, Namibia coach Eveline Noresses blamed the loss on poor communication and concentration.
She said: “It is not the results that we wanted, especially the huge margin. We were well-prepared for Malawi and as you saw, we absorbed the pressure very well for the first 45 minutes.
“We were looking forward to coming back stronger in the second half, but unfortunately our girls lost concentration and, as a result, they opened the floodgates for the Malawians. The more that they scored, they got confidence and my girls could not cope,” she said.
On his part, Malawi coach Trevor Kajawa said despite the huge margin win, they strggled in the early stages. The Junior Scorchers face Zambia in the semis tomorrow.
