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A resolute performance by Malawi helped them down strong Zambia 2-1 to win their first Cosafa Women’s Cup title in Sunday’s tightly-contested final at Lucas Moripe Stadium in Pretoria.
Asimenye Simwaka’s 35-minute goal and an excellent strike by Sabina Thom deep in referee’s optional time was enough for the She-Flames to dethrone last year’s winners.
Thom’s goal crushed Zambia’s Copper Queens’ hopes of retaining the title as they may have felt they had a strong chance after second-half substitute Agnes Phiri equalised from the penalty spot in the 84th minute.
This year’s tournament saw Video Assistant Referee (VAR) used for the first time by Cosafa and Malawi were at the receiving end of it as they had a goal ruled out late in the first half. Influential She-Flames captain Temwa Chawinga was found to have fouled a Zambia player in the build-up to the disallowed goal.
Nonetheless, the champions continued to play with purpose to try to return home with the title.
The Copper Queens were not outplayed, though — in fact Malawi looked the marginally better team in the match and created more good chances.
This was the second time the She-Flames made the final, with their previous appearance being back in 2021 where they lost to invited guest side Tanzania. The battle for third place was also decided on Sunday as Mozambique claimed a 1-0 defeat over Zimbabwe to take home bronze.
Lucia Mocambique found the winner for Mozambique with four minutes left to full time at the venue in Atteridgeville.
This is a great achievement for Mozambique women’s football as they have never made the podium in the competition before. Their best performance before this year was fourth place in 2002. TimesLive
