Defending champions Tanzania claimed victory in their Group C opener at the HOLLYWOODBETS COSAFA Women’s Championship 2022 at the Madibaz Stadium in Nelson Mandela Bay on Friday, but Botswana and Malawi could not be separated in their clash.
Botswana’s Mares reached the quarterfinals of the recent Women’s Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco, but faced a worthy opponent in Malawi, who were beaten finalists of this competition in 2021.
It was a hard-fought contest that ended 1-1, leaving both sides trailing the Twiga Stars after the first round of pool play.
Malawi took the lead inside seven minutes when Wezzie Mvula headed in at the back post from Ruth Nyirongo’s pinpoint cross.
But Botswana were level shortly afterwards as Gaonyadiwe Ontlametse turned smartly in the box and her shot slipped past Scorchers goalkeeper Ruth Mhango.
There were no further goals, though Botswana will be concerned with the number of injuries they endured in the game.
Tanzania got the defence of their campaign off to a positive start with a 3-0 victory over Comoros, who have shown a rapid improvement in recent years and might have got a more positive result had they taken their chances.
It was just three years ago that Comoros conceded 35 goals across their three pool games at the COSAFA Women’s Championship, but they look a much more composed and organised side this year and gave the Twiga Stars a run for their money.
Donisia Minja put the East African guest nation ahead on 14 minutes with an effort from the edge of the six-yard box, before Enekia Lunyamila fired in a superb shot to make it 2-0.
That goal was with her right foot, but Lunyamila added a second with her left as he drilled the ball home from a tight angle on 51 minutes.
The action returns to Group A on Saturday when hosts South Africa look to make it back-to-back wins when they take on Mauritius at the Madibaz Stadium (kick-off 15h30 CAT).
The youthful Banyana Banyana eased past Angola 3-0 in their opener, while Mauritius were beaten 5-0 by Mozambique.
Before that there will be an all lusophone clash between Angola and Mozambique (12h00 CAT) with the former in desperate need of a win to keep their semifinal hopes alive.
The best news for local fans is that tickets to the matches are FREE! They can be collected from SASOL outlets in Summerstrand, Disa, Motherwell and Standford Road.
All matches will be streamed live on www.cosafa.tv and FIFA+, and will also available on SuperSport, with selected games to be shown on SABC.
You can also follow the action at www.cosafa.com, and our official Twitter and Facebook pages.
FRIDAY’S RESULTS
Group C
Tanzania 3 (Minja 14′, Lunyamila 42′, 51′) Comoros 0
Botswana 1 (Ontlametse 14′) Malawi 1 (Mvula 7′)
SATURDAY’S FIXTURES
Group A
12h00 (10h00 GMT) – Angola vs Mozambique – Madibaz Stadium
15h30 (13h30 GMT) – South Africa vs Mauritius – Madibaz Stadium
STANDINGS
| GROUP A | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS |
| Mozambique | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 3 |
| South Africa | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Angola | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | -3 | 0 |
| Mauritius | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | -5 | 0 |
| GROUP B | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS |
| Lesotho | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Zambia | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| Namibia | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | -2 | 0 |
| Eswatini | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | -3 | 0 |
| GROUP C | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS |
| Tanzania | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Botswana | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Malawi | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Comoros | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | -3 | 0 |
TOURNAMENT STATS
Matches Played: 6
Goals scored: 18
Biggest victory: Mauritius 0 Mozambique 5 (Group A, August 31)
Most goals in a game: 5 – Mauritius 0 Mozambique 5 (Group A, August 31)
GOALSCORERS
3 goals – Boitumelo Rabale (Lesotho)
2 – Barbra Banda (Zambia), Enekia Lunyamila (Tanzania)
1 – Cidalia Cuta (Mozambique), Deolinda Gove (Mozambique), Cina Manuel (Mozambique), Refilwe Maseko (South Africa), Donisia Minja (Tanzania), Wezzie Mvula (Malawi), Gaonyadiwe Ontlametse (Botswana), Lithemba Sam-Sam (South Africa), Sphumelele Shamase (South Africa), Lonica Tsanwane (Mozambique)
Own goal – Elsa Dadard (Mauritius)
