Deadly combination

The deadly combination of Malawi women football exports Tabitha and Temwa Chawinga on Saturday made an instant impact for Chinese club Wuhan Jiangda after the pair scored three goals as they  thrashed Sichuan 4-0 in a 2021 Chinese Women’s Super League opener.

Temwa, who is in her second season with Wuhan, netted a brace while Tabitha, who has just joined the side from Jiangsu to team up with her younger sister,  made a scoring debut.

According to a match report on www.goal.com, the Malawi internationals were handed starting roles against Sichuan and they did not take  long to set the ball rolling with their displays against the visitors in Kumming.

“New signing Tabitha got the hosts to an incredible start, opening the scoring with her first goal for Wuhan in the ninth minute of the game,” reads part of the report.

“Temwa doubled the lead with her first goal of the season for the champions nine minutes later before the hosts grabbed a third of the match on the brink of half-time.

“After the break, Temwa fired in the fourth for the team, her second, in the 67th minute to ensure a superb start to their title defence.”

The win means Wuhan have opened their title defence with three points ahead of their next fixture against Shandong tomorrow.

Yesterday, the sisters, who faced off in the 2020 Chinese final as Temwa helped Wuhan thrash Tabitha’s Jiangsu 4-0 and win their first league title in their 19-year history, said it felt great to score while playing together at Wuhan.

“I am very excited and I thank God for giving me a good start with Wuhan. I really enjoy the game when I play alongside my sister on the attacking line,” Tabitha said.

On her part, Temwa said: “It feels great to reunite with my sister, who inspired me to seriously take up football as a career. It will be great to win the league title together this season.”