Tabitha Chawinga nets 7th goal
By Mabvuto Kambuwe
Malawi national women’s football team captain, Tabitha Chawinga, continued her impressive run in the Chinese Women’s Super League when she netted her seventh league goal of the season to help Jiangsu Suning thrash Henan Huizhou Merchants 3-0 on Thursday.
This was Suning’s seventh consecutive league victory this season which saw them finish the first round in style.
The result means Suning have gone eight points clear at the top and are on course to receive a Dragon Ball for their feat.
Chawinga netted after Yao Lingwei and He Wei gave Suning a two-goal advantage against Henan in Nanjing.
Suning lead the log table with 21 points from seven games.
Tabitha, who is expected to be part of the She-Flames squad to face Kenya on August 28 at Kamuzu Stadium, said her aim was to inspire Suning to the league title.
“We have started well and if we maintain our momentum, we can win the league. It will be good for me to win the league as well as the Golden Boot Award. My teammates have been very supportive since I came here and I am enjoying playing in the Chinese League,” the former DD Sunshine striker said.
Tabitha outclassed fellow Africans Onome Ebi and Chiwendu Ihezuo of Nigeria as Henan suffered their fourth consecutive defeat of the season.
The Rumphi-born Tabitha has already guided her side to two cup victories this season in the Asian country.
Suning won the Chinese Super and FA cups with the Malawian finishing as top goal scorer in both competitions.
Tabitha took Chinese football by storm after scoring 17 goals to win the Golden Boot Award in her debut season.
Such exploits saw the 22-year-old being named China’s Woman Footballer of Year.
Tabitha’s achievements have not eluded the attention of Confederation of African Football which nominated her in the Women’s Footballer of the Year category for two consecutive years.
Before moving to China, Tabitha won three Golden Boot Awards in Sweden over three years.
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