Young Chipolopolo on the brink

NAMIBIA took control of the Mopani COSAFA Under-20 Championships group C yesterday after managing to beat Angola 1-0 in a lively encounter at the Arthur Davies stadium in Kitwe.

Playing a day after their fellow group teams Zimbabwe and Lesotho had squared off in an off colour stalemate, the two teams brought some action and excitement into the group.

Now, the Young Warriors, joint second with Lesotho and will engage Angola on Monday needing a victory to keep their hopes alive in this year’ edition.

Namibia scored the all-important goal at the quarter of an hour-mark when Enzo Mungenje scored from a free-kick.

After the opener, the young Brave Warriors grew in confidence, taking the game to their opponents.

Angola pressed for an equaliser after the interval, but a determined Namibia remained resolute. Os Palanquinhas, could have equalised towards the end of the game, but they lacked the killer instinct.

Namibia’s Anthony Kham was named the man of the match.

Meanwhile, hosts and holders Zambia have seen their qualification for the knockout stages thrown in doubt after they were held to a 0-0 draw by Malawi in their second Group A clash at the Arthur Davies Stadium.

The result leaves Zambia with just a single point from their two matches, and they must now hope to secure the best runners-up spot in the three pools to have any chance of reaching the semi-finals. The result leaves them with a single point from two games, three behind Uganda and Malawi, who meet in their final pool fixture on Monday.

There were little in the way of clearcut chances in a game in which both sides were reduced to long-range efforts.

Earlier, Uganda were held to a 2-2 draw by Swaziland in a see-saw encounter in which they initially trailed, before grabbing the lead and then giving it up again later on.

Muzi Tsabedze had Swaziland ahead midway through the first half as he blasted the ball home from the edge of the box and into the top corner.

But Mohammed Shaban, who netted a brace in the 2-0 win over Zambia on Wednesday, drew his side level with a header after Swaziland goalkeeper Mlamuli Lukhele had spilled the ball into his path.

Swaziland had a number of chances to regain the lead, but fell behind when Allan Okello finished a swift counter and scored on the turn from the edge of the box.

It looked as though Uganda would hold on for the win, but Order Mamba grabbed his second of the tournament in injury-time to claim what could be a vital point for the Swazis.

Latest Group C standings: P W D L F A Pts

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