Zambian champions Green Buffaloes have booked their place in the final of the COSAFA Women’s Champions League 2022, but who their opponent will be will go down to the wire in Thursday’s final round of pool games.
That is because Double Action Ladies from Botswana held African champions Mamelodi Sundowns to a 1-1 draw in their Group A clash at the Sugar Ray Xulu Stadium on Tuesday, leaving that pool very much undecided.
Double Action will now need to beat Costa do Sol from Mozambique in their final clash by seven or more goals to stand a chance of overtaking Sundowns at the top of the group.
That is because The Brazilians’ ladies beat Costa do Sol 8-1 in their opener, so even a 7-0 win for Double Action would not be enough to advance as Sundowns would still go through on the number of goals scored in the pool.
Double Action took the lead in Tuesday’s clash when Sundowns player Tiisetso Makhubela put the ball into her own net with a header from a corner as she tried to clear the danger.
That was a real shock for the South Africans but they hit back through Melinda Kgadiete, who netted her third of the competition and eighth overall in the HOLLYWOODBETS COSAFA Women’s Champions League to lead the all-time scorers charts.
The excellent Ireen Lungu bagged a hat-trick to take her tally for this year’s competition to five, while Natasha Nanyangwe got the other goal in what was a routine victory.
The islanders finished the game with 10 players after a red card for defender Verasantatra Andrianandrasana as she handballed a goal-bound shot, which allowed Lungu to complete her hat-trick from the penalty-spot.
It means Young Buffaloes from Eswatini and Olympique de Moroni will play second place and a shot at the bronze medal at the tournament when they meet in the last game in Group B on Thursday.
Green Buffaloes may actually welcome Sundowns reaching the final as that would guarantee the Zambians a place at the TotalEnergies CAF Women’s Champions League in Morocco later this year.
Sundowns quality automatically for the tournament as defending champions, so should they make the final, their opponent would also qualify whatever the result.
However, if it is to be Double Action then Green Buffaloes will know a victory is still needed in the decider to advance to the continental showpiece in Morocco later in the year.
