Nigeria’s quest of further extending her trophy cabinet and securing a world cup slot suffered a huge setback as they were handed a shock 3-2 defeat by tournament debutants Malawi in their opening group fixture at Women’s African Cup Of Nations in Morocco.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Super Falcons expectedly controlled proceedings for most parts of the first half but decent efforts from Esther Okoronwo and Captain Rasheedat Ajibade were overshadowed by the goalkeeping brilliance of Malawi’s Sikelo accompanied with a well marshaled defense forcing the West Africans to a goalless draw at the break.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As the second half began, the Malawians made some tactical adjustments and surprisingly controlled the tempo of the game as they were finally rewarded for their efforts in the 73rd minute when Temwa Chawinga fully capitalized on Chiamaka Nnadozie goalkeeping error to give Malawi a well deserved lead and their first ever goal in the tournament’s history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Five minutes later her sister Tabitha Chawinga was not left out of the party as she got hold of a long ball from the Midfield and easily overpowered the sluggish Nigerian defenders to double their lead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n