Malawi Women’s National Football Team yesterday demolished Mauritius with a 9-0 thumping to boost their title defence with a semi-final berth in the Cosafa Women’s Championship in Gqeberha, formerly Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
Prior to the match, the Scorchers needed a wide-margin victory to keep their title defence on the boil and they executed their plan to perfection, registering the highest margin win so far.
In a match monitored on SuperSport television, Malawi were 3-0 up at the interval.
After shaking off some early lethargy, they took the lead in the seventh minute through reigning Council of Southern Africa Football Associations (Cosafa) Women’s Most Improved Player Leticia Chinyamula, who pounced on a fumbled ball by Mauritius goalkeeper Marie Edmund.
It was a goal the champions needed to calm the nerves and from then on, the goals just flowed, including three penalties.
Democratic Republic of Congo-based forward Sabina Thom, who is the stand-in captain, doubled the lead in the 23rd minute through a penalty awarded after Marie Fourneau had fouled Asimenye Simwaka.
The spot-kick was a wonder to behold. Simple, but classic and it left the Mauritian goal-tender rooted to the ground like a mummy.
Three minutes later, Simwaka made it 3-0. Chinyamula then claimed a brace and the Scorchers’ fourth in the 50th minute and then it was Thom’s turn to register a brace and Malawi’s fifth through a penalty in the 64th minute after a video assistant referee (VAR) check.
The penalty was awarded after she was fouled in the box. Chinyamula was in the picture again in the 79th minute, scoring the Scorchers’ sixth goal to chalk a hat-trick after her shot from close range was deflected into the net by a Mauritius defender.
But Thom wanted a hat-trick too and she got it when she struck Malawi’s seventh in the 82nd minute before Catherine Kachala made it 8-0 moments later.
Malawi were awarded their third penalty late in added time following a foul on Jessie Yosefe and up stepped Maureen Kachala to complete the massacre.
It was game over!
Scorchers coach Lovemore Fazili said he was delighted that his charges played according to their game plan.
“The plan was that we had to score as many as we could from the word go. We weren’t bothered about the outcome of the other match [between Botswana and Madagascar]. We had to do the job ourselves,” he said.
Malawi finished top of Group B with seven points, followed by Botswana with five, Madagascar, who held Botswana to a goalless draw yesterday, finished third with four points while Mauritius anchored the group with no point
