Malawi need more WAFCON warm ups – Fazili

Malawi women’s team coach Lovemore Fazili shared his analysis of a grudge battle which ended one-all against rivals Zambia at the three-nation tournament in Lilongwe on Sunday.

Having opened the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) warm up tournament with a 1-2 loss to Zimbabwe on Friday, much was expected from the hosts at Bingu National Stadium in the second game.

All seemed on track when France-based striker Rose Kabzere put the Scorchers ahead with a fine strike. However, the Copper Queens replied through Natasha Nanyangwe to level matters.

Earlier, Fazili had attributed the defeat at the hands of the Mighty Warriors on Friday to the wholesale changes made to his squad.

On Sunday, there was no excuse, as apart from Temwa Chawinga who is not part of the squad due to an injury, Malawi had all their top players.

Fazili fielded a strong line-up that included captain Tabitha Chawinga, first-choice goalkeeper Mercy Sikelo, Bernadetter Mkandawire and Sabina Thom in place of Thokozani Mwase, Chisomo Banda, Tendai Sani and Maureen Kenneth who had gotten the nod in Friday’s game.

What Fazili said about Zambia in WAFCON warm up

In a post-match interview with the Football Association of Malawi website, the Scorchers coach admitted that Zambia gave his girls a tough time.

“The game was good and very tough. We tried to win the game but the end result was 1-1. We had plenty of chances to win the game,” said Fazili.

“But going forward, we have learnt a lot from the tournament. There are positives and negatives. As we continue our preparations, we are going to rectify our problems. We have almost the full squad for the WAFCON finals. We need to have more friendly matches. The matches will help us to prepare well for the tournament”

Zambia’s stand-in coach Charles Halubono described the result as fair for both WAFCON-bound teams.

“It was a very competitive game. Malawi came with a very strong, well organised team and well-coordinated football. I am sure the fans watched a good game. It was a match full of scoring opportunities,” said Halubono.

The draw left the Scorchers out of the running for the tournament’s title, as they sit bottom with one point from two games. Zambia also have one point from one game while Zimbabwe lead the pack with three points.

The Mighty Warriors and the Coppers Queens face off on Tuesday to wrap up the five-day competition.

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