RISING star Mavis “Madam Chair” Chirandu scored her first-ever goal for the senior national women’s football team on Sunday when the Mighty Warriors mauled Lesotho 6-1 in an international friendly match in Maseru.
HENRY MHARA SPORTS REPORTER
Following their 5-1 win over the same opponents on Friday in another friendly match, the Mighty Warriors had no trouble in dispatching the hosts again two days later, as preparations for the 2014 Namibia African Women’s Championships qualifiers began smoothly.
Skipper Felistas “Figo” Muzongondi netted a brace while Merjury “Roadrunner” Nyaumwe, Violet “Beans” Bepete, Melody Musasa and Chirandu were all on the score-sheet in that match.
While the whole team was naturally delighted by the win, the Sunday match will forever be a moment to cherish for 17-year old Chirandu.
Nicknamed “Madam Chair” after women’s football boss Mavis Gumbo, the Young Mighty Warriors midfielder got her first senior cap when the Mighty Warriors toured Uruguay early this year when they played three friendly matches against the South American country.
Madam Chair played two matches in that tour and was also part of the Mighty Warriors team that drew 1-1 with South Africa in another friendly match in Daveyton in June.
Although Mighty Warriors coach Rosemary Mugadza has kept the core of the team that played in previous qualifiers, a number of Young Turks have been incorporated into the team.
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Grata Bande, the exciting 16-year-old Vainona High School student, was handed her debut for the senior team on Sunday and so were her Young Mighty Warriors counterparts Kudzanai Chipawushe and Tafadzwa Tsunguro.
The two matches against Lesotho were the first of a series of preparatory matches that the Mighty Warriors have lined up to prepare for the African Women’s Championships qualifiers. They will meet Botswana in the first round next February.
The African Women’s Championships finals — the women version of the men’s Africa Cup of Nations tournament — also serves as a qualification tournament for the 2015 Canada Fifa Women’s World Cup and the Mighty Warriors are leaving no stone unturned in their preparations for the two tournaments.
Gumbo said another international friendly match against Egypt had already been arranged for December while negotiations for a match with one of the continental heavyweight in January, are ongoing.
She thanked Marange Resources, the sponsors of the women’s national super league, for financing the trip to Maseru.
The diamond mining company has also committed itself to support all the Mighty Warriors future activities.
The victorious team touched down at the Harare International Airport on Tuesday night.
