Moyela Libamba scored the only goal as Zambia claimed a record seventh Hollywoodbets Cosafa Cup title with a 1-0 victory over Lesotho in a thrilling final played at a packed King Zwelithini Stadium in Durban on Sunday.
It was a tense and hard-fought decider that could have gone either way, but defending champions Zambia retain their crown and move ahead of Zimbabwe on the all-time winners’ list.
Lesotho were hoping to become the sixth nation to lift the coveted Southern African title but, like in 2000 in their only other final appearance, they have to settle for the silver medal.
So still only Zambia (7 titles), Zimbabwe (6), South Africa (5), Angola (3) and Namibia (1) have been victorious.
Lesotho thought they had the lead in the second half when Motebang Sera had the ball in the back of the net, a ‘goal’ that would have taken him to within one of Felix Badenhorst (nine) in the all-time scorers charts in the Cosafa Cup.
Instead it was ruled offside in the tightest of calls, showing the thin margins between success and failure. It was therefore Zambia’s moment to celebrate as Libamba Moyela rose powerfully to head home a corner on 78 minutes and provide what proved the pivotal moment in the game.
Earlier, South Africa picked up the bronze medal after they triumphed 5-3 in a penalty shout-out following their goalless draw with Malawi in the third-place play-off.
The fact that neither side was able to find the back of the net was quite remarkable given the attacking verve they both displayed and the number of chances created.
Both goalkeepers, South Africa’s Olwethu Mzimela and Brighton Munthali from Malawi, were in superb form and made incredible saves through the 90 minutes.
The decisive miss in the shootout came as Malawi’s Jacama Kumwembe crashed his effort onto the underside of the crossbar and it narrowly stayed out.
Malawi’s Chawanangwa Kaonga was named Player of the Tournament by the Technical Study Group, while Lesotho gloveman Sekhoane Moreane was the Golden Glove winner.
Tshegofatso Mabasa from South Africa and Zambia’s Albert Kangwanda shared the Golden Boot after they each scored three goals in the competition.
The individual award winners each walk away with R20 000, while Malawi also claimed the Fair Play prize. – cosafa.com
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