Malawi Under-17 Women’s National Football Team endured a disappointing afternoon at Bingu National Stadium in Lilongwe yesterday after surrendering a first-half lead to lose 1-2 to Burundi in the first leg of the Fifa Under-17 Women’s World Cup qualifier.
The Junior Scorchers made a bright start to the match and delighted the home supporters when Eneles Fabiano opened the scoring in the 14th minute.
The forward produced a well-taken shot that beat the Burundian goalkeeper, giving Malawi a deserved 1-0 advantage and raising hopes of a positive result.
However, the visitors responded with resilience and gradually grew into the game.
Their persistence paid off in the 25th minute when they found the equaliser through Belyse Niyokwizera, silencing the home crowd and restoring parity at 1-1 before the break.
After the interval, both sides battled for control, but it was Burundi that capitalised on their chances in the 50th minute as Irene Tuyishemeze struck the winner.
The defeat dashed hopes that the Junior Scorchers would provide consolation to home fans following the seniors’ heavy 4-0 loss to Australia at the Fifa Series in Nairobi, Kenya.
Malawi will now face an uphill task in the return leg scheduled for April 18 in Burundi.
To keep their qualification hopes alive, the Junior Scorchers must secure a victory away from home with at least two goals without conceding.
Junior Scorchers coach Chisomo Nkhoma in a post-match interview expressed optimism of overturning the tables.
She said: “We are not giving up. We know we have another chance.
We will go there to fight and win. We want to score more goals so that we should proceed.
“I think my girls were under pressure. As you can see, we did not play the way we wanted. We did not enjoy the game.
“Our opponents enjoyed in the midfield. They enjoyed possession than us, and they created a lot of chances. They used long balls and we were second on the ball.
“So, as we go back, we will polish up, make sure that we should be aggressive enough when we are approaching the final third.
If successful, Malawi will face the winner between South Sudan and Ethiopia in the second round of the qualifiers.
In the third round, possible opponents include Rwanda, Zambia, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Djibouti.
