Lucy Kajiya scored two goals as Zambia came from behind to defeat Botswana 3-1 in the opening game of the Girls’ Under-17 football tournament at the Region 5 Youth Games Maseru 2020 on Thursday.
Zambia had missed a penalty in the second half as they dominated the play, but finally found their winning goals late on through Jessy Zulu, who had time and space to pick her spot as the Botswana defence floundered, and the excellent Kajiya.
The match is the first in the three-team Girls competition that also features Namibia, and Zambia were full value for their win after overcoming a difficult start.
Serati Modisenyane put Botswana in front just before the half-hour mark as her cross from wide on the left floated all the way into the goal at the far post.
Zambia equalised four minutes after the break when a mix-up between defender and goalkeeper allowed Kajiya to steal in and put the ball in the back of the net.
Kajiya was then fouled to give Zambia the chance to claim a second from the penalty-spot, but Zangose Zulu put the ball well over the crossbar from 12-yards.
It mattered little in the end as Jessy Zulu scored her goal, and then Kajiya netted a brilliant second as she danced through the Botswana defence and applied an excellent finish.
Friday will be a rest day at the competition, but the action resumes with three matches on Saturday.
The Girls’ competition will see Namibia make their entrance when they on Zambia at 10h00 CAT (08h00 GMT), hoping to get under way with a win that will give them one foot in the final.
The two sides that finish in first and second position in the mini-league will play in the decider on Monday.
Later in the day there will be two matches in the Boys’ competition, starting with a Group B clash between Angola and Botswana at 13h00. The latter drew their opener with Botswana on Wednesday and will probably feel they need a win to advance.
Angola will make their tournament bow, with the top two teams in each pool moving on to the semifinals.
Eswatini will play their first game in Group A when they tackle Zambia at 15h30. The Young Chipolopolo were excellent as they defeated hosts Lesotho 2-0 in their first game. They will know that a point will be enough to see them into the next stage. The Boys’ semifinals and final will be played on Tuesday.
You can follow all the action live with our stream on www.cosafa.tv or via our website, www.cosafa.com.
THURSDAY’S RESULT
Girls
Zambia 3 (Kajiya 49’, 90’, J. Zulu 83’) Botswana 1 (Modisenyane 29’)
SATURDAY’S FIXTURES
Girls
10h00 (08h00 GMT) – Namibia vs Zambia
Boys – Group B
13h00 (11h00 GMT) – Angola vs Botswana
Boys – Group A
15h30 (13h30 GMT) – Eswatini vs Zambia
BOYS U17 TOURNAMENT STANDINGS
| GROUP A | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS |
| Botswana | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Malawi | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Angola | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| GROUP B | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS |
| Zambia | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | +2 | 3 |
| Eswatini | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Lesotho | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | -2 | 0 |
BOYS U17 TOURNAMENT STATS
Matches Played: 2
Goals scored: 4
Biggest victory: Lesotho 0 Zambia 2 (Group A, December 1)
Most goals in a game: 2 – Botswana 1 Malawi 1 (Group B, December 1); Lesotho 0 Zambia 2 (Group A, December 1)
GOALSCORERS
2 goals – Joseph Banda (Zambia)
1 – Phillip Kaku (Botswana), Madalitso Mwachumu (Malawi)
GIRLS U17 TOURNAMENT STANDINGS
| GROUP A | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS |
| Zambia | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Namibia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Botswana | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
GIRLS U17 TOURNAMENT STATS
Matches Played: 1
Goals scored: 4
Biggest victory: Zambia 3 Botswana 1 (December 2)
Most goals in a game: 4 – Zambia 3 Botswana 1 (December 2)
GOALSCORERS
2 goals – Lucy Kajiya (Zambia)
1 – Serati Modisenyane (Botswana), Jessy Zulu (Zambia)
