By Harry Awurumibe, Africa’s No.1 Women’s Football Journalist
Red-hot Burundi
For Burundi and Burkina Faso senior women’s football teams, qualification for their maiden Africa Women’s Cup of Nations (AWCON) final slated for Morocco in July may have been secured as both walloped their opponents 6-1 and 6-0 respectively in the first leg of the final round matches on Wednesday.
Burundi gained a massive advantage in their AWCON qualification dream in the best possible way after thrashing
hapless Djibouti 6-1 at the Stade Urukundo in Ngozi.
Burundi had cruised past debutants Eritrea 6-0 on aggregate to reach the final round last October, while opponents Djibouti earned their progression following the surprise withdrawal of Rwanda.
The home side continued from where they left off in the first round, getting themselves in front when Rukiya Bizimana opened the scoring with a fine finish in the 19th minute of the contest.
Five minutes later, captain Asha Djafari doubled the lead for the hosts with a powerful shot from outside the box to beat Djibouti goalkeeper Soubane Ahmed Omar.
With a 2-0 down, the visitors pushed for a comeback in the encounter and profited from the hosts’ defensive mix up to pull one back through Larman Abdoul in the 33rd minute.
The rampant Burundians extended the lead thanks to Sandrine Niyonkuru’s easy tap in after goalkeeper Omar failed to make a crucial save in the 40th minute. On the brink of half time, Uwimana Aniella headed in the fourth goal of the encounter for coach Gustave Niyonkuru’s side to put the contest beyond the visitors.
At the restart, Djibouti managed to hold up for some duration until Sandrine Niyonkuru and Bizimana grabbed their braces of the match in the 75th and 79th minutes respectively to complete the rout. With the huge triumph, the Burundians have put one hand on the coveted ticket to Morocco 2022, but will need to avoid an upset in the second leg at El Hadj Hassan Gouled Aptidon Stadium on Tuesday, February 22.
Both CECAFA teams are eyeing their first ever berth in their history at the African women’s football championship and the eventual aggregate winner after February 22 meeting will achieve their dream.
Elsewhere, the Burkinabe Ladies showed that they learnt a big lesson from their senior men team’s excellent run in the just concluded Africa Cup of Nations AFCON (AFCON) in Cameroon by walloping Guinea-Bissau 6-0 away at Estadio 24 de Setembro in Bissau in the first leg tie on Wednesday.
Mali Women’s football team
It will not be a surprise to hear that the Guinea-Bissau team has pulled out before the return leg match in Ouagadougou in four days time as the Burkinabe who are still cruising from their first round 5-2 aggregate win over Benin Republic to advance to this final round were in ascendancy from the beginning of the match. A a brace from Juliette Nana and a strike each from Adele Kabre, Adama Congo, Madina Rouamba and Limata Nikiema have put the Burkinabe on the verge of maiden WAFCON qualification.
The visiting side started the contest with early dominance but only found the back of the net in the 30th minute thanks to a brilliant effort from Nana before she grabbed her second of the match in the 45th minute.
In added time of first half, Kabre netted the third and Congo notched the fourth for the ruthless visitors just moments before the sound of half time whistle.
The helpless hosts defended bravely at the restart of the encounter until the 80th minute when the Stallions added the fifth through Rouamba and wrapped up the healthy away win courtesy of Nikiema’s effort at the death.
Following their huge away win, the Burkinabes will seek the guarantee their maiden qualification with another win at the Stade de I’Amitie in Cotonou, Benin Republic, where Guinea Bissau will seek to bounce back on February 23.
Also, in Thies; host Senegal managed to defeat hard-fighting Mali 1-0 in the match the two West Africans pushed hard to win little wonder the first half ended 0-0. After the break, the Senegalese turned from their more laid-back game to an ambitious team on the night as they pushed to break the deadlock and later found a breakthrough courtesy of Nguenar Ndiaye’s 73rd minute finish.
In the final stages, numerous efforts made to bounce back by the 2018 AWCON semi-finalists were dashed by the hosts’ defense as they held on their nerve to clinch a narrow home win.
With the slim triumph at home, Senegal had done enough to gain a vital advantage ahead of the return leg on Tuesday, February 22 in Bamako, where Mali will seek to overturn the one-goal deficit.
This is even as Namibia forced Zambia to a 0-0 draw in Lusaka on Wednesday in the first leg of their final round qualifier match played at Nkoloma Stadium in Lusaka. The Namibians had stunned Tanzania 5-3 on aggregate to advance, while the Zambians beat Malawi 4-3 on aggregate to set up an all COSAFA last round showdown for a place in Morocco 2022.
The Copper Queens went into the contest against the Brave Gladiators without big stars, including Barbra Banda and Racheal Kundananji for health and administrative reasons respectively.
In spite of their major absentees, Bruce Mwape’s side dominated possessions and almost gain the lead in the 28th minute but acting captain Grace Chanda fired wide from the free spot.
Although Woody Jacobs’ side had their moments to stun the Zambians through Zenatha Coleman, the home side’s defense were at their best to stop her before the referee sounded the half time whistle.
In the second half, the Namibians put up a solid defensive display following the attacking threats of the Zambians, who had themselves to blame for failing to use their chances in the end.
The draw still puts the Brave Gladiators in a good position to get a taste of the Women’s Afcon in July for the first time since hosting in 2014. .
Both COSAFA sides will look to earn an outright win for a WAFCON ticket in the second leg at the Orlando Stadium in Johannesburg on Tuesday, February 17.
Zambia are eyeing their third and second consecutive appearance at the continental showpiece following their Olympic debut at Tokyo 2020, while Namibia arei seeking a second time berth after 2014 campaign as hosts.
*AWCON final round first leg results*
*Wednesday February 16*
-Burundi 6 v 1 Djibouti
-Zambia 0 v 0 Namibia -Guinea-Bissau 0 v 4 Burkina Faso
-Senegal 1 v 0 Mali
*Upcoming Matches*
*Thursday, February 17*
Togo v Gabon (Lome, 15:00 GMT)
*Friday, February 18*
-Zimbabwe v Botswana (Harare, 13:00 GMT)
-South Africa v Algeria (Johannesburg, 14:00 GMT)
-Tunisia v Equatorial Guinea (Solimane, 14:00 GMT)
-Cameroon v The Gambia (Yaounde, 14:30 GMT)
‘Nigeria v Ivory Coast (Abuja, 15:00 GMT).
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