Shepolopolo’s AFCON Qualifiers Form Not Good Enough, Says Boss Mwape

Shepolopolo coach Bruce Mwape was relieved to see his side progress to the final qualifying round of the 2022 African Women’s Championship, after eliminating Malawi 4-3 on aggregate. 

Despite this positive outcome, Mwape felt there was more to come from his team after the game, and warned similar performances may not be enough to see them to Morocco, the tournament hosts for next year.

Having won 3-2 at home in the Nkoloma Stadium in the first leg, the Copper Queens managed to hold on for 1-1 draw away in Lilongwe. However, the Scorchers came close to scoring a winner, and therefore qualifying through the away goals rule. 

It was a game of tight margins, and had key moments gone against Zambia, their dreams of AFCON glory may have been over before they had even begun.

Mwape appeared keenly aware of this fact in his post-match interview, stating, “We didn’t play well compared to the way we played in Malawi,”

“But the most important thing is qualifying to the next round. There is still time to correct where we made mistakes.”

In other football news, Chipolopolo ace Enock Mwepu scored his first goal for Premier League side Brighton and Hove Albion, against Leicester in the EFL Cup.

Having only come on at half-time, Mwepu made a swift impact, scoring a the crucial equalizer with a fine header to take the game to penalties. 

This was not quite enough to see Brighton through the tie though, as they were knocked out the cup by Patson Daka’s Leicester team. Mwepu’s scoring ability deserted him as he stepped up to take the decisive penalty, with his powerful effort well saved by Leicester keeper Danny Ward. Patson, on the other, converted his spot kick with great aplomb.