Europa Conference League: Lifumpa Mwandwe's 'fairytale' ending with Newtown
- Published
Lifumpa Mwandwe scored 15 goals during his time at Newtown
Lifumpa Mwandwe certainly marked his final game for Newtown in style - his manager describing it as a "fairytale ending."
Newtown had lost 1-0 at HB Torshavn of the Faroe Islands in the first leg of their Europa Conference League qualifier a week earlier.
But Mwandwe scored Newtown's second goal in the second leg as the Cymru Premier side drew level on aggregate to force a penalty shoot-out.
And it was the 21-year-old forward who struck the winning penalty to secure victory for The Robins and a place in the second qualifying round.
"Honestly, I couldn't have finished it any better," Mwandwe told BBC Sport Wales after the game.
"I can't put it into words right now but things like that, you can't write can you?
"I'm obviously happy to get the lads through to the second round so I leave on a positive note.
"I didn't want to lose this game and I thought we could beat them after playing away."
Greenwich-born Mwandwe will not feature in next week's trip to Slovakia to face Spartak Trnava as he had already agreed to join Halifax Wanderers in the Canadian Premier League.
Mwandwe said he was "surprised" by the approach from the Nova Scotia-based club but is looking forward to the move.
"My agent said there was interest and all of a sudden the release clause was triggered," added Mwandwe, who flies out to Canada on Sunday.
"I had a Zoom call with their manager and he said I was the perfect player for their team
"So I'm off to Canada and it will be a new experience and back to full-time football.
"I'm up for new challenges as well so I'm excited."
Mwandwe is a product of Shrewsbury Town's academy who initially joined Newtown on loan in 2019.
Following his release by the Shrews in 2020 he returned to Latham Park on a permanent basis and was part of the side which won the Cymru Premier play-off in May 2021.
"We're going to miss him but we're delighted for him," Newtown manager Chris Hughes said.
"He's been good for us and we've been good for him. He came in after being released by Shrewsbury and he's been with us just over a year and a half.
"He's been excellent and has given us a real dimension but we wish him well in Canada. It's a great move for him and if it doesn't work out he'll always be welcome here."