Ntopwa Women’s FC of Malawi still have a mathematical chance of making it to the semi-finals of the on-going Cosafa Caf Women’s Champions League qualifiers despite losing 1-0 to defending champions Green Buffaloes from Zambia at Sugar Ray Xulu Stadium in Durban, South Africa, Friday.
To qualify for the last four, Ntopwa must beat Botswana’s Double Action Ladies at Princess Magogo Stadium on Monday.
Ntopwa anchor Group A with one point from two matches, at par with third-placed Lesotho Defence Force (LDF) who also lost by a similar margin to Action Ladies of Botswana in an early kick off at the same venue.
Action Ladies lead the group with four points while Buffaloes lie second but on goal difference.
However, both Ntopwa and LDF can overtake their opponents if they get a positive result on Monday.
Ntopwa could have bagged a win against Buffaloes but they gave too much respect to the Zambians in the first half.
This saw them play under pressure, allowing Maweta Chilenga to break the deadlock in the 26th minute.
Chilenga fired a powerful shot straight into the net from the edge of the box, giving Ntopwa goalkeeper Mercy Sikelo no chance.
Two minutes later, Agnes Phiri nearly doubled Buffaloes’ lead but she shot over the cross bar with a yawning goal at her mercy.
Ntopwa certainly had no real chance in the first half and they must have been wishing it ended much earlier.
However, Ntopwa were a changed side in the second half with a solid display.
Vanessa Chikupira, Linda Kasenda, Saliva January, Rose Alufandika and Bernadetta Mkandawire had a grand game but finding the back of the net still proved difficult.
Chikupira forced Buffaloes goalkeeper Aisha Mbwana to make a save towards the end of the match.
Buffaloes continued to stand firm at the back until the referee blew the final whistle.
The defending champions must have been asking themselves what went wrong as they wasted about 19 scoring opportunities in the entire match.
Ntopwa coach James Sangala gave credit to his charges despite the loss.
’’We knew that they would come hard on us but we defended jealously.
It’s unfortunate that we allowed them to score after losing concentration in a split second. We lost the plot in the first half by giving away possession easily. We were better in the second half but it was too late,’’ Sangala said.
Buffaloes coach Carol Kanyemba rued missed chances.
“We had several chances to score more goals but the girls lacked composure. But a win is a win and we are happy,’’ she said.
Two teams from each group will advance to the semi-finals of the competition with the champions automatically booking a ticket to the Caf Women’s Champions League finals in Ivory Coast.
