Day three of the 2024 COSAFA Under-17 Girls’ Championships opened with the conclusion of match day one of Group C where Zambia bagged maximum points after defeating Botswana 3-0 at the UJ Soweto Stadium on Friday.
Zambia, who have just competed at the FIFA Under-17 Women’s World Cup in the Dominican Republic, dominated play, creating better scoring chances.
They could have broken the deadlock within the first 20 minutes but wasted the opportunity. There was a chance four minutes later from captain Mercy Chipasula’s free kick but it was saved by the Botswana goalkeeper.
The combination of Lweendo Hanongo and Natsha Nkaka kept the Botswana defense busy as they almost created a goal just before the half hour mark. Carol Kanyemba’s side’s efforts were finally rewarded in the 36th minute through Chipasula.
They could have doubled the lead three minutes later if Grace Phiri’s header wasn’t off target but had to settle for the 1-0 lead at halftime.
The Copper Princesses picked up where they left off in the second half but were still missing chances. Nkaka scored a cracker of goal to give Zambia the cushion goal in the 64th minute.
With great momentum built Hanongo tested the Botswana keeper and was denied by the woodwork. Zambia were not done yet as Hellen Banda came off the bench seal the victory with a third goal in injury time.
The result means Zambia go top of Group C with three points, followed by Zimbabwe who defeated Mauritius 2-1 on Thursday with the same number of points with Mauritians third and Botswana at the bottom both with no points.
