Lesotho moved into pole position in group B at the Hollywoodbets Cosafa Cup 2022 after they claimed a 2-1 victory over Mauritius on Friday, but Malawi saw their chances of a quarterfinal place evaporate.
Lesotho now need just a draw in Sunday’s final pool match against Eswatini to book a place in the knockout rounds and set up a quarterfinal against west African guest nation Senegal.
That is because they have won two from two in group B, their victory over Mauritius following success by the same scoreline against Malawi in their opener.
They took the lead against the islanders thanks to a strike by Tumelo Makha, but were pegged back by the Mauritians, who equalised five minutes after halftime through Jacques Prosper for his first-ever Cosafa Cup goal.
Lesotho would not be denied though as they pushed forward for the winner and Jane Thabantso, who scored the fastest ever Cosafa Cup goal after 34 seconds also against Mauritius in 2016, netted with a low strike with 18 minutes remaining.
Malawi were left seething by what they felt was an incorrect penalty award in their 1-1 draw with Eswatini that ended their chances of reaching the quarterfinals.
John Banda pushed an opponent in the back late on, but Malawi felt he went down too easily. Sabelo Ndzinisa scored his second goal of the competition from the spot to extinguish The Flames’ chances.
The latter had taken the lead seconds after halftime when a mistake at the back from Eswatini allowed Khuda Muyaba to round the goalkeeper and score from a tight angle.
Saturday will be a rest day at the competition, but the final round of matches in both groups A and B will take place on Sunday as the first round comes to an end, revealing our final quarterfinal lineup.
Angola and Botswana go head-to-head at 14h00 CAT with Palancas Negras needing only a draw to secure top spot in group A and set up a quarterfinal against five-time winners Zambia.
Botswana must win to overtake them, which should make for a fascinating clash.
The other match in the pool sees Seychelles and Comoros meet at the same time in a fixture that is a battle for pride and nothing else.
The group B decider between Lesotho and Eswatini will kick off at 17h00 CAT, while at the same time Malawi play Mauritius to avoid the wooden spoon.
Meanwhile, following feedback from city officials regarding water retentions in the KwaMashu area which will affect the Princess Magogo Stadium, matches scheduled for that venue have now been moved.
Sunday’s games that were due to be played at that venue have been moved to the Moses Mabhida Stadium. The four quarterfinals that were due to be staged there will now take place at the King Zwelithini Stadium.
The plate semifinals and final have been moved to the Sugar Ray Xulu Stadium.
Fans wishing to attend games at the Cosafa Cup must collect their FREE match tickets from the venue the day before the match is played.
You can follow all the games live on SuperSport.
FRIDAY’S RESULTS
Group B
Malawi 1 Eswatini 1 (Muyaba 46’) (Ndzinisa 90’pen)
Lesotho 2 Mauritius 1 (Makha 10’, Thabantso 72’) (Prosper 50’)
SUNDAY’S FIXTURES
Group A
Seychelles v Comoros (KO 14h00; 12h00 GMT) – Moses Mabhida Stadium
Botswana v Angola (KO 14h00; 12h00 GMT) – King Zwelithini Stadium
Group B
Mauritius v Malawi (KO 17h00; 15h00 GMT) – Moses Mabhida Stadium
Eswatini v Lesotho (KO 17h00; 15h00 GMT) – King Zwelithini Stadium