The Malawi National Women’s Football Team continued their preparations for the upcoming Cosafa Women’s Championship tournament with a convincing 17-0 win over Seychelles in the final international friendly match played at Mpira Stadium on Thursday afternoon.
Head coach Lovemore Fazili made wholesale of changes to the side that won the first match, with the likes of Asimenye Simwaka, Lyna James, and Mary Chavinda all included in the starting eleven.
It only took five minutes for the hosts to open the scoreline through Simwaka, who was set through by Chikondi Gondwe to make it 1-0.
A minute later, Chavinda opened her account with a simple finish, capitalizing from a defensive mistake from the visitors, 2-0.
Simwaka nearly doubled her tally in the 17th minute when she received a throughball from Gondwe, but her shot came off the woodwork from the close range.
The Scorchers made it 4-0 in the 19th minute through Chimwemwe Madise, who scored through a powerful header from a corner kick.
Chavinda doubled her tally with another easy finish after she was at the receiving end of another excellent pass from Gondwe to make it 5-0 in favor of the hosts.
Ruth Nyirongo was the next to register her name on the scoresheet with a powerful header from another set piece, 6-0.
It was 7-0 after the 28th minute courtesy of a long-range rocket goal from Sani to completely put the game beyond the visitors’ reach.
Seychelles introduced Sherina Radegonde for Rania Chetty to try to tame Malawi’s pace, especially in the middle of the park where Gondwe was in full control.
Simwaka doubled her tally in the 41st minute after she won the ball away from the visitors in their own half to make it 8-0.
The final goal of the first half was scored by Chavinda who completed her hat-trick with yet another simple finish from a million-dollar pass from Gondwe who was causing havoc to the visitors’ defense with her fantastic display of football in the midfield.
After the recess, the hosts made nine changes to the side that played in the opening half while Rahima Moumou was replaced by Dinara Julie in goal for the visitors after sustaining an injury to her hand
Chavinda was on target in the 50th minute with a thunderous shot outside the penalty box to make it 10-0 in favor of Fazili ladies.
Substitute Carol Matchola registered her name on the scorer chat with a low cross grasscutter to beat Julie to her far post.
Another substitute, Sarah Mlimbika, scored direct from a corkerkick to make it 12-0 as Malawi kept on pressing for more goals.
Mlimbika was back on the scoresheet with a simple tap in, connecting well from a Matchola pass into the six-yard.
Mlimbika completed her hat-trick in the 72nd minute with yet another easy tap in after she received an excellent pass from Gondwe, who has had several assists in the game, 14-0.
Jessie Yosefe and Chavinda scored in quick succession to put the game at 16-0 before a late strike from Benardetta Nyenga to make it 17-0.
After the match, Fazili maintained his position that he was very much focused on the performance of his players rather than goals scored.
“I was not interested in the number of goals scored by my team but rather on performance. Scoring 17 goals doesn’t mean we are okay. We still have some areas to polish up before we go to South Africa.
“The main concern is how the players are placing themselves when it comes to offside traps. We also having a problem with the tendency of passing the ball backwards, something which needs to be avoided but all in all, we have learnt a lot in these two friendly matches that will help us to improve and possibly record wins,” he explained.
On squad selection, the tactician said his squad will include both the experienced players and the youngsters in order to have a smooth transition as he is focusing on rebuilding the team.
“The two friendly matches have given me a selection headache to come up with 23 players, but I will try my level best to pick the best players out of the whole squad. We will definitely have new faces in which it will be 50-50 for transitional sake so that we will get the best players from both the experienced players and the new players,” he concluded.
His opposite number, Florence Marie hailed her players for such a spirited performance despite a heavy defeat, saying the players gave it all and learned a lot in the two matches.
“First of all, I would like to thank my players for giving it all against Malawi. The perseverance, the determination, and the willingness to go into the field to play were something extraordinary. That’s what was expected of them to do, and they played despite some of them getting injured. We are also grateful to FAM for giving us this opportunity to expose our players to such a big stage. We are here, we have played the games regardless of the scoreline even though we were eager to reduce the margin, but all in all, we are going home with our head high, learning, taking lessons from the two matches.
“We have to work harder in terms of discipline on the field, interms of endurance, interms of our tactics, and how we move with the ball when in possession. We have learned a lot, and definitely, we will come out good after these matches,” she concluded.
The team leaves for South Africa on Monday. They will Kickstart their campaign against Banyana Banyana.
