Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies got off to a great start in the HOLLYWOODBETS COSAFA Women’s Champions League zonal qualifier when they cruised to a comfortable 8-1 win over debutants Costa do Sol of Mozambique on Sunday, 7 August 2022.
The Group A clash took place at the Sugar Ray Xulu Stadium in Durban.
Fresh from representing South Africa at the 2022 TotalEnergies Women’s Africa Cup of Nations tournament in Morocco, where they won their maiden title, Banyana Banyana striker Melinda Kgadiete showed her class when she grabbed a brace along with fellow forward, Andisiwe Mgcoyi.
Captain Zanele Nhlapho scored from the penalty spot to give the continental champions a 5-0 lead at the break.
Miche Minnies and Rhoda Mulaudzi added two more goals the other side of the half, and to rub salt into the wound, Costa scored an own goal through Nadia Farranguana to make it 8 for Banyana ba Style.
Kgadiete was named Woman of the Match.
“I am so happy with our performance because we created so many chances. We showed our superiority in the contest right from the blast of the whistle. Although I felt we could have scored more, but that is an issue we intend to address in our subsequent fixtures. The goals made me happy, but I am more excited with the overall performance of our team,” she said on her club website.
Cidalia Cuta managed a consolation goal from the penalty spot with 13 minutes left on the clock.
Never one to be impressed despite an avalanche of goals scored by his charges, Sundowns Ladies head coach Jerry Tshabalala had this to say:
“The plan was to dominate the ball and create goal-scoring chances early on and we did that. Our strikers were alert and converted their chances, but we could have done much more with the chances that we created. Nevertheless, we did well against a team that we had little knowledge of, and I must praise my team for their solid tempo from start to finish. Overall, our opponents showed their bravery despite the lack of competitive games under their belt. Had they had competitive games before this tie, we could have been telling a different story now.”
In Group B, Zambia’s Green Buffaloes won the battle of the buffaloes when they bulldozed Eswatini’s Young Buffalloes 4-0.
Ireen Lungu and Hellen Chanda, both Copper Queens internationals, gave their side a two nil lead at half time. Anita Mulenga increased the advantaged in the second half before Lungu grabbed her second of the day.
The top team in each group will progress to the final and stands a good chance of representing the COSAFA region at the TotalEnergies CAF Women’s Champions League later this year in Morocco.
Runners-up in the groups will contest the bronze medal.
In their next match on Tuesday (9 August), Sundowns will face last year’s semi-finalists, Double Action Ladies of Botswana.
The two sides met in the same competition last year and the South Africans were 6-0 winners.
Kickoff is at 12h00 at the Sugar Ray Xulu Stadium.
Matches will be live on SuperSport, SABC Sport OTT, FIFA+ and COSAFA.TV.
SUNDAY’S RESULTS
Group A
Mamelodi Sundowns 8
(Melinda Kgadiete 2′, 45′, Andisiwe Mgcoyi 30′, 33′, Zanele Nhlapho 38’pen, Miche Minnies 54′, Farranguana 61’og, Rhoda Mulaudzi 69′)
Costa Do Sol 1
(Cuta 77’pen)
Group B
Green Buffaloes 4
(Lungu 32’, 85’, Chanda 42’, Mulenga 67’)
Young Buffaloes 0
TUESDAY’S FIXTURES
Group B
Double Action Ladies vs Mamelodi Sundowns
(KO 12h00; 10h00 GMT)
Olympique de Moroni vs Green Buffaloes
(KO 15h30; 13h30 GMT)
GROUP STANDINGS
| GROUP A | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS |
| Mamelodi Sundowns | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 7 | 3 |
| Double Action | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Costa do Sol | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 8 | -7 | 0 |
| GROUP B | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS |
| Green Buffaloes | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 3 |
| Olympique de Moroni | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Young Buffaloes | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | -4 | 0 |
TOURNAMENT STATS
Matches Played: 2
Goals scored: 13
Biggest victory: Mamelodi Sundowns 8 Costa do Sol 1 (Group A, August 7)
Most goals in a game: 9 – Mamelodi Sundowns 8 Costa do Sol 1 (Group A, August 7)
GOALSCORERS:
2 goals:
Melinda Kgadiete (Mamelodi Sundowns)
Ireen Lungu (Green Buffaloes)
Andisiwe Mgcoyi (Mamelodi Sundowns)
1 goal
Hellen Chanda (Green Buffaloes), Cidalia Cuta (Costa do Sol), Miche Minnies (Mamelodi Sundowns), Rhoda Mulaudzi (Mamelodi Sundowns), Anita Mulenga (Green Buffaloes), Zanele Nhlapho (Mamelodi Sundowns)
Own goal:]
Nadia Farranguana (Costa do Sol)
