HARARE, (CAJ News)-SOUTH Africa bowed out of the COSAFA Senior Challenge at the semi-final stage after going down 3-2 to hosts Zimbabwe in a penalty shootout at Rufaro Stadium yesterday.Zimbabwe goalkeeper Edmore Sibanda emerged the hero as he saved two Bafana Bafana penalties taken by Mduduzi Nyanda and Wayne Matle while Keomohester Wolff blasted over the bar the deciding penalty.
Zimbabwe scored three penalties through Mthulisi Maphosa, Method Mwanjali and Ashley Rambanapasi. Gilbert Mapemba missed the Warriors, second penalty while Tafadzwa Rusike missed the hosts fourth spot-kick.
Thuso Fana scored South Africa’s third goal while Mangoba Ngwenya scored the fourth penalty kick before Wolff blasted over the bar.
Zimbabwe have set a date with the winner of second semi-final pitting Angola and Mozambique at Bulawayo’s Barbourfields Stadium on Thursday.
Zimbabwe came into the match as hot favourites as South Africa fielded a development side which held its own against the experienced hosts.
South Africa found the opener in the 37th minute through Lennox Bacela.
The Warriors equalized through Philip Marufu in the 64th minute.
South Africa goalkeeper Jacob Mokhasi kept the visitors in the game with some good saves.
Zimbabwe could have won the match in the 84th minute when Mokhasi was beaten but defender Gladwin Sithole was alert and cleared the ball as it headed for the nets.
The match had to be decided through a penalty shootout in which the Warriors came out tops.
With the win, Zimbabwe maintained their grip over the South Africa.
Amazingly given their respective success over the years in both having claimed three COSAFA Senior Challenge titles, South Africa and Zimbabwe have only ever met on two occasions in this tournament.
The first was in the semi-finals in 2000 in Port Elizabeth when a Kaitano Tembo goal gave Zimbabwe a 1-0 win, and they claimed the second meeting too in East London in 2003, winning by the same shoreline thanks to a Lazarus Muhoni goal.
The Zimbabweans will be desperate to make it a hat-trick of wins, though South Africa did claim the last meeting between these two countries in a friendly international in March 2008, winning 2-1.
Overall, South Africa has won five of the 10 matches to date.-CAJ News
Post published in: Football