South Africa COSAFA Champions Again

South Africa made it a fourth win in five COSAFA (Council of Southern Africa Football Associations) tournaments, with a 2-1 victory over hosts Zimbabwe, in front of a 23,000 crowd.

Chrestinah Kgatlana opened the scoring for Banyama Banyama on half-time, with tournament top scorer Rutendo Makore equalizing in the 72nd minute.

There was then a dramatic conclusion as Leandra Smeda grabbed a last-minute winner for the South Africans.

Zambia earlier won the bronze medal match 4-2 in a shoot-out, after finishing 1-1 with Kenya.

In the group stage, Zimbabwe had only won one of game, after drawing with table-topping Zambia 1-1 and third-placed Malawi 3-3, while South Africa won two of their three matches but were held by Botswana.

In the semi-finals, Zimbabwe were 4-0 winners over Kenys but South Africa required penalties to beat Zambia after a 3-3 draw.

Tournament awards

Best Player – Chrestinah Ngtlana (South Africa)
Top Scorer – Rutendo Makore (Zimbabwe)
Best Goalkeeper – Chido Dzingirai (Zimbabwe)
Fair Play – Kenya

Photo – cosafa.com

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