Mozambique and Malawi clash in the Boys U-17 tournament
Photo Credit: Cosafa - Council of Southern Africa Football Associations
The Under-17 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) regional qualifiers for Southern Africa (COSAFA) kicked off on two fronts for boys and girls on Wednesday in Johannesburg, South Africa with a barrage of goals.
Angola defeated Lesotho 2-1 at the University of Johannesburg (UJ)’s Soweto Campus ground to assume early leadership of Group A for the boys section. Thereafter, Malawi came from a goal down to hold Mozambique one-all.
Skillful winger Francisco put the Angolans ahead with a neat finish just after the half-hour mark before Dansel Liyun increased the lead in the second half when he did justice to a corner kick. Lesotho scored their face-saver through Rethabile Nqoko.
In a late kick for the boys, Gift Chibala scored on the stroke of half-time for Mozambique as he simply slid the ball into the net after the Malawi keeper had spilled a low effort.
The boys for coach Enos Chatama of Malawi pushed for an equalizer. The Malawians were denied by the post before Clifford Chisale snatched the late leveler a minute to full-time.
The towering young forward ran into the channels to meet a through ball past Mozambique’s defence to fire into the net.
Group A action among the girls saw Mozambique easing past Comoros 5-0 in a late kickoff coming after Lesotho punished neighbours Eswatini 6-0.
Lesotho found the net without breaking a sweat as Boiketlo Molise and Ntsamaeng netted a brace each, with Thato Molete and Tebello Lesata adding their names to the scoresheet.
In the second game, Mozambique’s Ana Armando and Teresa Gogola each scored twice before Judite Cumbi put the icing on the cake. The action continues of Thursday in both categories.
Two overall teams in the boys’ category will book a ticket to the Under-17 Africa Cup of Nations finals in Ivory Coast next year.
The girls are using the regional qualifiers to prepare for the AFCON finals for their age-group scheduled for Morocco next year.
Video: Matchday 1 Wrap (Credit: COSAFA YouTube)
Results
Boys U-17 (Group A)
Angola 2-1 Lesotho
Malawi 1-1 Mozambique
Girls U-17 (Group A)
Mozambique 5-0 Comoros
Lesotho 6-0 Eswatini
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