Orlando Pirates forward Gabadinho Mhango brings smiles to the faces of all Malawians as his two goals deliver the surprising victory for his country at the ongoing AFCON – final score 2-1 against Zimbabwe.Yes, the opening week of the competition has seen its fair share of controversy and entertainment. Yes, the early stage of the tournament cannot really brag with goals galore (despite only matches involving hosts Cameroon seeing more than one goal) but the match between Malawi and the Warriors of Zimbabwe brought more excitement than expected. Malawi’s record of being the joint-lowest scoring nation during qualification let everyone believe it will be another low-scoring affair, but it was far from it.Salim Ben Boina plays amateur football in France and shines in the AFCON in his spare timeOpening minutes showed Zimbabwe being dominant – Norman Mapeza’s men controlled much of the possession and saw a series of headed chances – the one from Ishmael Wadi was extremely close.However, the attempts from the flank finally paid off in the 38th minute. The aforementioned Wadi converted a long-range header, he caught the ball few meters away from the penalty spot and sent the ball slowly but accurately went behind Ernest Kakhobwe.AFCON 2021: West African derby ends in a barren drawThe conceded goal came as a slap on the face of the Malawian squad and surely woke the Flames up. Zimbabwe Warriors ended their group dance celebration only to see the ‘Flames’ breaking down the other end – Francisco Madinga sent a beautiful left-footed cross which was clinically converted by Mhango in the 43rd minute.Romanian coach Mario Marinica was happy with the reaction from his men, the counter-attacking was what showed as a fruitful approach. And they continued in the same way – they defended the bombardment of crosses, knowing they would get chances on the counter through danger man Mhango.In the 58th minute, Mhango was again at the right place at the right time. Teenage Hadebe showed hesitancy in a mix-up with Zimbabwe keeper Petros Mhari, the ball went to Mhango who coolly lifted the ball over Mhari.The celebration after the full-time whistle showed how much this meant to the Flames. This victory ended their run of five consecutive defeats while on the other end, the loss extended Zimbabwe’s run of 13 competitive matches without a win.Malawi sit 3rd in Group B and hope that – in their third AFCON attempt – will head into an automatic qualification play-off against Guinea who drew against tournament favorites Senegal.AFRICA CUP OF NATIONSGroup BFridaySenegal – Guinea 0-0Malawi – Zimbabwe 2-1 (1-1)/Mhango 43, 58 – Wadi 38/
