South Africa made it three wins from three when they claimed a hard-fought 1-0 success over Botswana in their Group A clash at the 2016 COSAFA Under-20 Championships at the Moruleng Stadium on Monday.
South Africa had already cemented top spot in the pool before the fixture, but managed a third clean-sheet in a row which will be pleasing for coach Thabo Senong.
The only goal of the game was scored by Sibongakonke Mbatha midway through the second half.
The match never reached any great heights as a spectacle, with South Africa resting a number of their top stars ahead of Wednesday’s semi-final with Angola.
Mbatha had earlier gone close but shot wide, while Itumeleng Shopane grazed the post when he should have at least hit the target.
Lesotho grabbed a second victory of the finals when they defeated Swaziland 2-1 at the Mogwase Stadium.
Lesotho, who has suffered the humiliation of an 8-0 defeat at the hands of hosts South African in their pool opener, finish second in Group A having also defeated Botswana in their second game.
Swaziland took the lead through Saviola Gamedze after just five minutes, but Thabang Malane scored a fantastic equaliser for Lesotho just before halftime.
They turned the game on its head with a second three minutes after the break and were able to hold on for the morale-boosting victory.
DR Congo and Comoros finished off the last 20 minutes of their Group D clash that was carried over from Sunday night after a floodlight failure at the Moruleng Stadium.
There was no addition to the score as goals from Ernest Sita and Nathan Lusuki earned DR Congo the win that took them to the top of Group D.
It means they will be involved in Tuesday’s cross-over matches with Group B.
Zambia take on Mozambique at the Mogwase Stadium and DR Congo battle with Malawi at the Moruleng Stadium, with the points gained in these games counting towards the final tally in the respective pools. Both matches kick-off at 11h00 local time; 09h00 GMT.
MONDAY’S RESULTS
Group D
Comoros 0 DR Congo 2 (Ernest Sita 6’, Nathan Lusuki 62’)
Group C
Mauritius 1 (Rudy Vincent 51’) Angola 1 (Felix Vladimiro 33’)
Sudan 5 (Walaa Mohamed 51’, 74’, 90’, Khaled Osman 23’, Ammar Taifour 77’) Seychelles 0
Group A
Botswana 0 South Africa 1 (Sibongakonke Mbatha 65’)
Swaziland 1 (Saviola Gamedze 5’) Lesotho 2 (Thabang Malane 42’, Khubetsoana Kamela 48’)
TUESDAY’S FIXTURES
Group C vs Group D cross-over matches – KO: 11h00 (09h00 GMT):
Zambia vs Mozambique – Mogwase Stadium
Malawi vs DR Congo – Moruleng Stadium
STANDINGS
Group A P W D L GF GA Pts
South Africa 3 3 0 0 10 0 9
Lesotho 3 2 0 1 3 9 6
Swaziland 3 1 0 2 3 3 3
Botswana 3 0 0 3 0 4 0
Group B P W D L GF GA Pts
Zambia 2 2 0 0 8 1 6
Malawi 2 0 1 1 0 3 1
Zimbabwe 2 0 1 1 1 5 1
Group C P W D L GF GA Pts
Angola 3 2 1 0 6 1 7
Mauritius 3 1 2 0 4 2 5
Sudan 3 1 1 1 6 2 4
Seychelles 3 0 0 3 0 11 0
Group D P W D L GF GA Pts
DR Congo 2 1 1 0 2 0 4
Mozambique 2 0 2 0 2 2 2
Comoros 2 0 1 1 2 4 1
TOURNAMENT STATS
Matches Played: 18
Goals scored: 47
Biggest victory: South Africa 8 Lesotho 0 (Group A, December 7)
Most goals in a game: 8 – South Africa 8 Lesotho 0 (Group A, December 7)
GOAL SCORERS
3 goals – Walaa Mohamed (Sudan)
2 – Patson Daka (Zambia), Marcus Dimanche (Mauritius), Sibongakonke Mbatha (South Africa), Menzi Ndwandwe (South Africa), Fransisco Sacalumbo (Angola), Fashion Sakala (Zambia), Chrispen Sakulanda (Zambia), Felix Vladimiro (Angola)
1 – Pedro Alves (Angola), Tseliso Botswana (Lesotho), Achmat Ceres (South Africa), Edward Chilufya (Zambia), Nelson da Luz (Angola), Nilton Ernesto (Mozambique), Alex Ferre (Mauritius), Saviola Gamedze (Swaziland), Hassan Hassan (Sudan), Said Hicham (Comoros Islands), Khubetsoana Kamela (Lesotho), Bruno Langa (Mozambique), Nathan Lusuki (DR Congo), Thabang Malane (Lesotho), Ali Matse (Swaziland), Wisemen Meyiwa (South Africa), Bhekani Mthembu (Swaziland), Nkosingiphile Ngcobo (South Africa), Moses Nyondo (Zambia), Khaled Osman (Sudan), Itumeleng Shopane (South Africa), Bukhosi Sibanda (Zimbabwe), Sifundo Sibiya (South Africa), Luther Singh (South Africa), Ernest Sita (DR Congo), Ammar Taifour (Sudan), Rudy Vincent (Mauritius), Habib Youssouf (Comoros Islands)
