Temwa keeps goals flowing

US-based Malawian women’s football star Temwa ‘TC6’ Chawinga has engaged an extra gear in the chase for the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) golden boot, having taken her tally to nine goals.

The Scorchers’ prolific forward netted the fourth for her US women’s top flight league side Kansas City (KC) Current as they swept aside Portland Thorns 4-1 on Monday to pile pressure on joint leading scorers, Zambian Barbara Banda of Orlando Pride and Thorns’ Sophia Olivia Smith, who have scored 10 goals apiece.

In a match monitored on KC Current TV, the 25-year-old scored a goal of the archives two minutes after the break as her team led 3-0.

She waltzed past bemused Thorns defenders and, in a blur of action, released  left foot shot into the net.

In a brief interview on Monday, the 2023 world top scorer, said she will keep turning the screw.

“I am enjoying the ride here. It’s all about team work. We are all enjoying the good run. Hopefully, we’ll keep up the momentum,” she said.

Following the win, KC Current remain top of the 14-team league with 32 points from 14 mstches. They are tied on points with second-placed Orlando Pride. They are also the only two teams yet to taste defeat.

The win also extended the club’s undefeated record streak to 16 matches.

In a post-match interview, KC Current coach Vlatko Andonovski was quoted by the club’s website kansascitycurrent.com as having said: “I knew that to be successful in Portland, we had to be brave and aggressive going forward.

“So, we had to throw numbers in their half and force them to defend, If we didn’t attack with numbers, then we were going to end up defending a lot. It was a fairly brave setup by our players.

“I’m very proud of how brave they played when in that setup. I thought they executed [the plan] very well and scored some nice goals.”