Despite their fighting spirit, a ten-man Angola succumbed to a 2-0 defeat against Lesotho during their Group B, 2016 COSAFA Castle Cup encounter at the Independence Stadium in Namibia on Tuesday evening.
A goal from Tumelo Khutlang and penalty goal from Hlompho Kalake was enough for Lesotho to send the Angolans out of the regional tournament.
The loss means they are out of the tournament as they have two losses and sit at the bottom of the log with zero points – they will wrap their campaign up against Mauritius on Thursday.
In a fast-paced affair, both sides displayed hunger in the opening stages of the match but it was Likoena who scored first.
Just after 10 minutes, Moses Maliehe’s side broke the deadlock through Khutlang’s header which was difficult for the Angolan goalkeeper Joao Bunga, 1-0.
In the 17th minute, the side from the mountainous kingdom nearly doubled their lead when Mafa Moremoholo saw his long range shot going just wide.
In the final minutes of the opening half Angola pushed and kept Lesotho in their own half, but it remained 1-0 at the interval.
After the break, Sarry Matias’ men tried to put pressure on Lesotho as Oliviera attempted a long range shot which produced a fine save from keeper Daniel Jousse in the 49th minute.
Despite plenty of ball possession in the last 20 minutes, Angola wasted a number of chances in the box with poor decision making letting them down.
However, against the run of play, Lesotho were awarded a penalty after foul inside the box and Kalake made it 2-0.
The dying minutes of the tie saw Angolan skipper Antonio Nzayinawo getting a red card for a second bookable offence.
the win has elevated Lesotho to the top spot in the group with six points, but they will wait for the outcome of the match between Malawi (who have three points) and Mauritius later on Tuesday night.
Lesotho: (1) 2 (Khutlang 11′, Kalake 80′ pen)
Angola: (0) 0
Lesotho: Jousse, Malefane, Makepe, Moremoho, Tseka, Kalake, Potloane, Mahula, Thaba-Ntso (Seakhoa 59′), Seturumane (Motebang 63′), Khutlang
Angola: Bunga, Pedro Alves, Nzayinawo, Quissanga, Mudile, de Carmo (da Silva 90′), Oliveira, da Luz, de Carmo, Fortunato (Jonata 64′), Nguendelamba (Balanga 82′)
