South Africa claimed a thrilling 2-1 victory over Central African guest nation Cameroon in the final of the 2018 COSAFA Women’s Championship while Zambia settled for fourth position after losing 1 – 0 to Uganda in the third and fourth place playoff.
The Shepolopolo started on a promising note winning all their group games without conceding a goal but were undone by Cameroon in the semifinals who they had earlier beat 1 – 0 in the group stage.
The Beauty Mwamba coached side failed to better the 2017 third place finish but will look back at the tournament as good preparation for the November 2018 Ghana Women Africa Cup of Nations tournament.
For South Africa, they continued their dominance in the region as Refiloe Jane bagged a goal in each half, either side of a strike by Genevieve Ngo Mbeleck, as Banyana Banyana retained the title they won in Zimbabwe last year. It is a fifth win in six tournaments for the team.
Ngo Mbeleck was named Player of the Tournament after an excellent campaign, while Goalkeeper of the Tournament went to Uganda’s Ruth Atoru. Banyana midfielder Linda Motlhalo finished with the Golden Boot foir her four goals in the competition, while Zambia picked up the Fair Play award.
The girls need to hold their heads high. They are simply good. With determination they will perform wonders at AFCON in November.
Winning Cups will soon come.