Malawi women football export Temwa Chawinga on Tuesday continued her superb scoring form in the Chinese Women’s Super League as her strike inspired Wuhan Jiangda to a 3-1 comeback victory over Shandong Sports Lottery.
According to a match report on goal.com, the strike, a ninth-minute equaliser before Yao Weili hit a second-half brace to put the game beyond Shandong’s reach, has not only taken the 22-year-old’s tally to five goals in eight matches, but also helped Wuhan confirm a place in the final top-four championship and cement a stand at the summit of the 10-team log table with an unbeaten run.
With a single round to go before the play-offs, Temwa’s team has already made it into the final top-four battle alongside her elder sister Tabitha Chawinga’s Jiangsu Suning and Zambian Barbra Banda’s Shanghai RCB. Beijing and Changchun will fight for the remaining slot.
Temwa has to pull up her sock in the remaining games if she is to effectively fight for the Golden Boot Award as she is six goals behind leading scorer Banda and two adrift third best scorer Tabitha, who is tied on seven goals with Tang Jiali (Shanghai RCB) and Ma Xiaoxu (Beijing BG Development). Florencia Soledad Jaimes of Changchun Dazhongzhiye is the second leading scorer with 10 goals.
But in an interview yesterday, the former Blantyre Zero striker, who is eighth on the scorers’ chart, said she is more interested in helping her team win the league title than individual honours.
“While it is my wish to win the golden boot, my main focus is on helping Wuhan take the league’s ultimate glory. So far, I am happy that I have helped my team qualify for the final top-four championship,” Temwa said.
On her part, 24-year-old Tabitha, who did not feature in Suning’s 4-0 thumping of Guangdong Meizhou Huijun due to suspension after committing two bookable offences in previous games, said she is determined to help her team defend the title and the chase to retain the golden boot comes second.
Temwa is having her first season in the Chinese women’s football top-flight, having joined Wuhan from Swedish second-tier league side Kvarnsvedens IK early this year.
As for Tabitha, she is having her third season in China, where she helped Suning win the championship last season. She also grabbed the golden boot accolade in both the league and the Chinese Women’s FA Cup aside from being named the league’s Player of the Year.
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