East African guest nation Kenya proved the big winners on the day as they thumped Mauritius 11-0 in their Group B clash at the 2017 COSAFA Women’s Championship at the Luveve Stadium in Bulawayo on Saturday.
The result leaves Kenya top of the pool on goal-difference from Swaziland, who were held to a 2-2 draw by Mozambique, with those two sides to meet in their final match on Monday.
Neddy Okoth was the hero again for the guests as she netted four goals to go with her hat-trick in Kenya’s 5-2 opener against Mozambique on Thursday, and now leads the scoring charts in the tournament with seven goals. Lucy Mukhwana and Jereko Adam were also on the scoresheet for the Kenyans as they grabbed a brace each.
Mozambique battled back for a point as Betinha struck late in their 2-2 draw with Swaziland, who had led twice via Celiwe Nkambule and Nqobile Dlamini. Lucia had also earlier netted for Mozambique, who have kept their hopes alive of finishing as one of the best placed runners-up.
Botswana also kept themselves in contention for a semifinal spot with a 3-0 victory over Lesotho.
All of their goals came in the opening 26 minutes through Boitumelo Gammu and Bonang Otlhagile (two) as the Lady Zebras picked up a first ever victory in the COSAFA Women’s Championship.
Sunday will see the conclusion of two pools as hosts Zimbabwe look to secure top spot in Group A when they take on Malawi (14h00 local; 12h00 GMT), who have been Jekyll and Hyde in this tournament both winning and losing by 6-3 scorelines in their last two games.
Malawi have it all to play for as a win could take them top of the pool if Zambia don’t win their final match against Madagascar at the same time. Zimbabwe and Zambia both have four points, while Malawi have three and the Malagasy zero.
In Group C, South Africa will hope to seal top spot when they take on Botswana at the Luveve Stadium (16h30 local; 14h30 GMT), but will also be wary of their opponents. Namibia will be waiting for any slip-ups as they take on Lesotho at the same time, who are now out of contention for a place in the semifinals.
South Africa have a full haul of six points from their two games, while Namibia and Botswana have three and Lesotho none.
Only the top two teams in each pool advance to the semifinals, along with the best-placed runner-up.
SATURDAY’S RESULTS
All at Luveve Stadium
Kenya 11 (Adam 9’, 85’, Okoth 25′, 32′, 45′, 51’, Mukhwana 34′, 49’, Salano 54’, Nixon 79’, Rassoie 90og) Mauritius 0
Lesotho 0 Botswana 3 (Gammu 3’, Otlhagile 22′, 26’)
Mozambique 2 (Lucia 74’, Betinha 90’) Swaziland 2 (Nkambule 49’, Nq. Dlamini 75’)
SUNDAY’S FIXTURES
All at Barbourfields Stadium
Zambia vs Madagascar (14h00 local; 12h00 GMT) – Barbourfields Stadium
Zimbabwe vs Malawi (14h00 local; 12h00 GMT) – Luveve Stadium
Namibia vs Lesotho (16h30 local; 14h30 GMT) – Barbourfields Stadium
South Africa vs Botswana (16h30 local; 14h30 GMT) – Luveve Stadium
