By Duncan Mlanjira
Angola’s Ambrosini Salvador has joined Malawian star Patrick Mwaungulu as joint top scorers with three goals apiece after Day 2 of the COSAFA Under-20 championship taking place in Zambia.
Mwaungulu scored all three through a hat-trick after beating Comoros 4-0 on Day 1 while Ambrosini scored two when Angola thrashed Seychelles 8-0 and added the third when beat Mozambique 1-0 in Group C.
Other scorers for Malawi are Francisco Madinga, Chinsinsi Maonga and Lanjesi Nkhoma.
Mwaungulu
Madinga scored his when they beat Comoros 4-0 while Maonga and Nkhoma claimed theirs when the junior Flames drew 2-2 on Saturday.
After a goalless first period, Botswana took the lead through Phaza Chose on the 55th minute before Malawi struck back five minutes later through substitute Lanjesi Nkhoma.
Then the junior Flames hit the front three minutes later through another substitute Chinsinsi Maonga but could not hold on for a win as Doctor David popped up with 10 minutes remaining to steal a point.
At two goals apiece are Miguèl Afonso (Angola), Oswin Appollis (South Africa), Jimmy Mukeya (Zambia) together with his compatriot Francisco Mwepu.
Mwaungulu in top form
Meanwhile, Mozambique stand on the brink of elimination if Eswatini defeat Seychelles on Sunday, as they have now played to back-to-back defeats.
Hosts Zambia claimed their second victory when Francisco Mwepu and Elliot Kampukesa scored second half goals to beat Comoros Islands 2-0 in their Group A clash.
Zambia have taken a giant step towards the semifinals qualification with one round of group matches still to play, topping the group with six points, followed by Malawi (four), Botswana (one) and Comoros (zero).
Malawi v Comoros
They now face a winner-takes-all showdown with Malawi in their final game on Monday.
Only the top team in each group advances to the semifinals, along with the best-placed runners-up.
Mwepu opened the scoring on 56 minutes, his second of the tournament, before Kampukesa added an insurance goal with nine minutes remaining.
Mwepu also missed a penalty after that, but the hosts did enough to collect all three points.
South Africa beat Mauritius 5-0, while Madagascar won 3-0 against Lesotho.
Angola v Mozambique
Defending champions South Africa made a strong start to the game by going 2-0 up inside 12 minutes with goals from Sinenjongo Mkiva and Keagan Mitchell set them on their way.
Oswin Appollis scored to more in the second half before Athenkosi Mcaba added the fifth in time added.
They also won 5-0 against Mauritius in their opening match.
Zambia v Comoros
In the other game in Group B, Madagascar made a strong start to their campaign with a handsome 3-0 success over Lesotho.
The Malagasy are back in the competition for the first time since 2013 and showed their potential as Rafizy Todisoa put them into a first half lead.
They made sure of the points with two goals in six minutes in the second period as Randianantenaina Arnaud and Raicardo Menakely found the back of the net.
Eswatini claimed a well-deserved 2-0 victory over Mozambique to get their campaign off to a fine start in Group C.
This was a rare victory in the competition for Eswatini, who did not win a game between 2004 and the 2016 tournament, before they finally managed a 2-0 success over Botswana three years ago.
They had just a draw and four defeats in five games in 2017 and 2018, so will welcome their bright start to the competition.