BULAWAYO, (CAJ News)-STAKES have been raised in the COSAFA Senior Challenge Group B ahead of the penultimate matches on Thursday after shock results were posted on Tuesday at Barbourfields Stadium here.
Botswana stunned Swaziland 1-0 through a Malepa Bolelang header and the Comoros tore the form book to threads when they beat Seychelles 2-1 with goals coming from Ahmed Ali in the sixth minute and Mohamed Mougini in the 64th minute. Now the Comoros are on top with four points, the same as Botswana but on a better goal difference, while Swaziland remain on three points. The trio has a chance of qualifying for the quarter-finals. On Thursday, Swaziland take to the field at 1330hrs against the Comoros while Botswana engage Seychelles at 1530hrs.
Zebras coach Stanley Tshosane believes the group is still wide open. Everyone still has a chance to go through, no one is celebrating as yet, he said after the famous victory over Swaziland. This is the first time that Botswana will be playing the Seychelles in the regional tournament, but on the face of it, both teams have watched each other play and will tread cautiously. Both teams also seem to be affected by the single days rest as the October heat is taking its toll on the players. Tshosane says his team will concentrate on their game against Seychelles and not worry about the other match. He has seen his side play too different types of matches – a fast and creative one against Comoros and a jaded one against the Swazis. We need to concentrate on our game and not look at the other match. Naturally, the result will affect our approach to the game, but we must remember, our destiny is in our hands, he said.
The Zebras reached the semi-finals of the COSAFA Castle Cup in 2006 and repeated the feat in 2007. In 2006, they were beaten by South Africa in a penalty shootout, but the following year they caused one of the biggest upsets, stunning World Cup finalists Angola. Botswana also came close to qualifying for the Africa Cup of Nations in 2008, but when they needed an away win to Egypt, they lost by a single goal. Seychelles head coach Richard Holmund said despite the two defeats, they were still aiming to end the tournament on a high. I said before the start of the tournament that we always want to improve on our results. We have lost two games; we have one to play, which I believe we can still win, he said after the loss to Comoros, which he blamed on a concentration lapse late in the second half.
The Seychelles is the smallest country in Africa but have made fine strides at full international level, winning two of their matches in the 2004 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers when they beat both Zimbabwe and Zambia at home. Their biggest win has been the 7-0 dismantling of Mauritius in Witbank, South Africa in 2008 where Phillip Zialor scored four goals and remains the only player to do so in the competition. Their biggest loss was against Madagascar (5-0) in Maputo, Mozambique in 2007. Fixtures Today (Bulawayo): Swaziland v Comoros (13:30hrs); Botswana v Seychelles (15:30hrs).
Post published in: Football