Defending champions Tanzania have swept into the semifinals of the 2022 HOLLYWOODBETS COSAFA Women’s Championship in Nelson Mandela Bay following an emphatic 3-1 victory over Malawi on Wednesday.
The fixture was a rematch of last year’s final – when the Twiga Stars claimed a 1-0 success – but this time round they were able to win by a greater margin to finish top of Group C.
They will face Women’s Africa Cup of Nations bronze medallists Zambia in Friday’s first semifinal (kick-off 12h00 CAT) in what is sure to be a titanic struggle, after which hosts South Africa take on Namibia in the second semi (15h30 CAT).
Tanzania faced the Scorchers in a winner-takes-all contest and seized the advantage from the moment Donisia Minja gave them the lead midway through the first period, her second goal of the campaign.
Diana Msewa added a second on the stroke of halftime, and Opa Tukumbuke bagged a third to put the East African guest nation in control.
Malawi did pull a goal back through Asimenye Simwaka, and had a further chance to score only for Ireen Khumalo to miss a late penalty.
The result sounds an ominous warning to the remaining sides in the competition that the Twiga Stars will be tough to overcome.
Gaonyadiwe Ontlametse scored four goals as Botswana made light work of Comoros in the other match in Group C.
The Mares claimed a 6-0 victory and leave the tournament unbeaten in their three matches, but one point short of being the best-placed runner-up.
Lesego Radiakanyo and Tshegofatso Mosotho got the other two scores in what was a dominant display from the 2020 finalists.
Tomorrow will be a rest day at the competition, before the semifinals are played on Friday.
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.
WEDNESDAY’S RESULTS
Group C
Comoros 0 Botswana 6 (Ontlametse 3’, 51′, 53′, 90, Radiakanyo 43′, Mosotho 68’)
Tanzania 3 (Minja 20′, Msewa 45′, O. Tukumbuke 59′) Malawi 1 (Simwaka 65′)
FRIDAY’S FIXTURES
Semifinals
12h00 (10h00 GMT) – Zambia vs Tanzania – Wolfson Stadium
15h30 (13h30 GMT) – South Africa vs Namibia – Wolfson Stadium
STANDINGS
| GROUP A | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS |
| South Africa (Q) | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 7 | 7 |
| Mozambique | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 5 |
| Angola | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| Mauritius | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 12 | -12 | 0 |
| GROUP B | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS |
| Zambia (Q) | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 11 | 9 |
| Namibia (Q) | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 6 |
| Lesotho | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 9 | -6 | 3 |
| Eswatini | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 10 | -9 | 0 |
| GROUP C | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS |
| Tanzania (Q) | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 7 |
| Botswana | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 6 | 5 |
| Malawi | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Comoros | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 15 | -15 | 0 |
Discussion about this post