Unlucky Mighty Warriors return home from SA

ZAMBIA and Malawi completed the semi-final line-up, at the 2021 COSAFA Women’s Championship, after the Copper Queens won their final Group C game against Uganda, yesterday.

The Zambians won the match 1-0, in a tough group decider, at the Nelson Mandela Bay.

Captain Grace Chanda scored the priceless goal, in the 37th minute.

The second match in the group was a dead-rubber, between Namibia and Eswatini,which the former won 1-0.

But, it was Malawi who were celebrating, from the comfort of their hotel rooms, as they advanced, as the best runner-ups, with six points.

Malawi finished on six points, with a +2 goal-difference, and edged Zimbabwe (six points, +1), in the battle for a place, in the semi-finals.

Zambia will take on Group B winners Tanzania, in the first of the semi-finals, on tomorrow.

Hosts and COSAFA Cup record winners, South Africa, will take on Malawi, in the second game.

Tournament regulations meant organisers could have switched around the semi-final fixtures, as South Africa and Malawi, emerged from the same group.

The two teams met in their tournament opener, with the South Africans claiming a narrow, hard-fought, 2-1 victory.

The semi-final match is also a repeat of last year’s semi-final, when Banyana Banyana ran out 6-2 winners, in a game that was goalless, at half-time.

However, the hosts this time, are likely to face serious competition, from the East Africans, who have been a marvel, at the tournament. The Twiga Stars comfortably secured a semi-final match slot, with three group victories, and eight goals, to their credit.

The Mighty Warriors lost 0-3 to Tanzania, won 2-1 against South Sudan and beat Botswana 3-0. They return home cursing themselves for not having scored many goals, against the South Sudanese, and also letting a fired-up Tanzania, run riot, against them.