Chawinga sisters inspire Scorchers to historic WAFCON shock against Super Falcons
Malawi pulled off one of the greatest upsets in Women's Africa Cup of Nations history on Tuesday, stunning defending champions Nigeria's women's national football team 3-2 in their Group C opener to record a famous first-ever WAFCON victory.
The Scorchers owed their landmark triumph to the brilliance of the Chawinga sisters, with Temwa Chawinga netting twice and Tabitha Chawinga adding another to leave the Super Falcons reeling and throw Group C wide open.
Nigeria controlled possession for long spells of the first half but failed to make their dominance count. Esther Okoronkwo's dangerous set-piece deliveries posed the biggest threat, yet Malawi's disciplined backline stood firm to frustrate the reigning champions.
At the other end, Malawi looked dangerous every time they broke forward, with the pace and movement of Temwa and Tabitha Chawinga constantly testing the Nigerian defence.
The Super Falcons felt they should have been awarded a penalty five minutes before the interval after Okoronkwo was brought down inside the area, but the referee waved away the appeals as the teams headed into the break deadlocked at 0-0.
Malawi thought they had taken the lead early in the second half when Tabitha Chawinga produced a classy finish with the outside of her boot, only for the effort to be ruled out for offside.
In search of a breakthrough, Nigeria head coach Justin Madugu introduced Uchenna Kanu and Toni Payne in the 56th minute, replacing Chinwendu Ihezuo and Folashade Ijamilusi to inject fresh attacking energy.
The breakthrough eventually arrived in the 73rd minute, but it came for Malawi. Temwa Chawinga raced onto a perfectly weighted pass, rounded goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie with composure and calmly slotted into an empty net to ignite celebrations.
Six minutes later, the Scorchers doubled their lead. Another dangerous ball into the area found Tabitha Chawinga, who stretched to poke home beyond Nnadozie and make it 2-0.
Malawi continued to threaten on the counter-attack and missed further opportunities before Nigeria found a lifeline late in the contest. The Super Falcons were awarded a penalty after a handball in the box, and captain Rasheedat Ajibade confidently converted to reduce the deficit.
Any hopes of a dramatic comeback were short-lived as Temwa Chawinga struck again just three minutes later. Latching onto another ball over the top, she delicately lifted her finish beyond Nnadozie to restore Malawi's two-goal advantage at 3-1.
Substitute Uchenna Kanu pulled one back deep into stoppage time, but it proved too little, too late as Malawi held on to complete a famous 3-2 victory.
The result lifts Malawi onto three points in Group C, behind leaders Zambia, who opened their campaign with a commanding 6-0 win over Egypt. For Nigeria, the shock defeat marks a disappointing start to their title defence, leaving the Super Falcons with work to do in their remaining group-stage fixtures if they are to keep their hopes of retaining the WAFCON crown alive.
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