Gotal takes positives from Malawi defeat, banks on home advantage for comeback

Mighty Warriors coach Stella Gotal says her side’s 2-0 defeat to Malawi will serve as motivation for her charges to raise their game when they host the Scorchers at the National Sports Stadium on Tuesday in the return leg.

The Mighty Warriors succumbed to a 2-0 defeat at the Bingu National Stadium in Malawi on Friday afternoon, a result that dented their hopes of progressing to the next round of the 2028 Olympic qualifiers.

Tabitha Chawinga of Olympique Lyonnais Féminin and Temwa Chawinga of Kansas City Current in America scored in either half to seal the win for Malawi and give them a two-goal advantage heading into the second leg.

However, Gotal, who lost her first match at the helm of the Mighty Warriors, took positives from her team’s performance and believes they will raise their game and convert the chances they create.

‘THERE IS SOMETHING POSITIVE’ SAYS STELLA GOTAL

Mighty Warriors against Malawi at the Bingu National Stadium in Malawi. Picture by ZIFA

For Gotal, losing to a team with a number of stars like Malawi is motivation for her side to use home advantage in a similar way Malawi did in their backyard.

“First of all, I would like to congratulate Malawi for the result, 2-0. Then also I would like to congratulate my players because I’m proud of them, the way they were aggressive, they tried to win, they tried to beat

“Again, I would like to thank all our fans that came to Malawi to support us. So 2-0 is still a good result for us even though we lost. Definitely, everyone is sad and somehow disappointed.

“But there is something positive because at the end of the match, maybe in the last 15 to 20 minutes, we had good opportunities that we didn’t use this time, but it’s definitely motivation for the second match which we will play at home and it gives us positive spirit.”

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