South Africa suffers defeat in u20 Women’s Cosafa Championship
The much-anticipated match between South Africa and Zambia on Wednesday at the u20 Cosafa Women’s Championship lived up to expectations.
Both teams showed competitive spirit, but South Africa was, in the end, well beaten, going down 0-3 in a contest that most considered to be between the leading title contenders.
The teams played to a stalemate in the opening stanza, although both showed a willingness to attack in search of goals and victory.
Zambia owned a slight edge in terms of the pressure they created on the home side. Their captain Mary Mbewe, posed a consistent danger on the left flank, making threatening runs to get her team on the front foot.
The Zambians were also more effective than South Africa in finding one other and moving the ball quickly. However, the hosts defended strongly and worked to get the ball wide, where they also actively engaged their opponents.
As the first half drew to a close, there was little in it and it was hard to predict which team would prevail, although South Africa would need to make considerable adjustments if they intended to defeat their opponents.
Zambia began the second half with great intensity, loudly cheered on by their supporters, and their positive intent was rewarded when Ruth Muwowo netted the opening goal, which silenced the South African fans.
Mary Mbewe, who was later named the player of the match, continued to cause problems for the South African defence.
Then, Zambia doubled their lead in the 84th minute, just six minutes from time, in a somewhat controversial manner. Saliya Mwanza scored, but the South African supporters wondered whether or not the ball had fully crossed the line. The referee conferred with her assistant on the sideline and validated the goal, putting Zambia into a 2-0 lead.
Not content to sit back and conserve their advantage, Zambia continued to press and their brave approach bore fruit when they were awarded a penalty during the referee’s additional time. Jessy Zulu converted from the spot to complete a sparkling 3-0 win for the Zambians.
The victory earned Mbewe and her side three points for a second day in succession, following their 9-0 thrashing of Lesotho on Tuesday.
With the convincing victory, Zambia is now heavily favoured to go on to clinch the Cosafa Championship title. Their 12 goals without reply in two matches reflect a gap between them and their challengers.
Mozambique, beaten 4-0 by South Africa in their opener, recorded a first victory, edging out Botswana 3-2 in a closely-contested fixture.
Nelia Tamele, of Mozambique, received the Player of the Match award for her exceptional performance in a thrilling contest that kept spectators on the edge of their seats.
After a rest day on Thursday, the Cosafa Championship games resume on Friday. Botswana faces Zambia at 12:00 and South Africa takes on Lesotho at 15:00.
