Angola and Namibia produced crucial wins in Group C at the Hollywoodbets Cosafa Cup 2024 on Monday, but Seychelles and Lesotho are still alive in an intriguing pool.
Angola led early on against Seychelles but then had to come from behind to gain a 3-2 victory in a thrilling fixture, denying the islanders what would have been just their second ever win at the Cosafa Cup.
Depu put Angola ahead inside nine minutes, but Johan Gamatice equalised for Seychelles to send the teams into the break level at 1-1.
Brandon Labrosse then had Seychelles ahead within a minute of the re-start, but Depu equalised just before the hour-mark and Maestro lived up to his name by scoring the winner on 79 minutes.
Seychelles have only once before scored more than their current three goals in a Cosafa Cup campaign and they still have a game to go. That was in 2008 when they defeated Mauritius 7-0, their only Cosafa Cup win, and then also netted against Madagascar.
Namibia were 2-1 winners over Lesotho in another entertaining clash played in front of a sizeable crowd.
Ivan Kamberipa put Namibia in front on 36 minutes but Lesotho found the equaliser just after halftime through Neo Mokhachane.
Namibia looked the most likely to score again and that goal arrived following a composed finish from Bethuel Muzeu.
Angola top the pool going into Wednesday’s final round of games. They and Namibia have four points and a +1 goal-difference, but Angola have scored three goals to Namibia’s two.
Lesotho and Seychelles have a point each and are not out of contention for the semifinals.
The action continues on Tuesday with four matches, two each at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium and two more at the Isaac Wolfson Stadium.
Entrance will be free with tickets for available at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium ticket office and the Usave Kwazakhele adjacent to Isaac Wolfson Stadium on a first come, first served basis.
Group B will conclude when Zimbabwe look to top the pool by gaining a draw at least in their clash with Kenya at the Isaac Wolfson Stadium (kick-off 12h00).
The Warriors are in the pound seats to book a place in the semi-finals, but conversely could yet fail to reach the knockout stages.
That is because there could be three teams on six points come the end of play and that will require some calculations.
If Kenya beat Zimbabwe and Comoros do likewise to already ousted defending champions Zambia at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium (12h00 CAT) then we will have a trio of clubs level at the top.
It will then come down to points in matches between them, then goal-difference and if that fails to separate the teams, goals scored.
Group A will also be completed on Tuesday as hosts South Africa take on Eswatini at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium and Mozambique meet Botswana at the Isaac Wolfson Stadium in what is the tightest of pools. Both games kick-off at 15h00 CAT.
All four teams are on two points meaning anything can happen in this group.
What is likely is that only top spot will be good enough as traditionally the best second-placed team in the pool stages has gone through with six points. The maximum these teams can get is five.
Currently South Africa lead the pool on Fair Play points, but that could change rapidly on Tuesday. – Cosafa.com
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