* Will next meet Malawi’s Silver Strikers tomorrow, who beat Mozambican side Costa do Sol 2-1 coming from a goal behind
* It was an impressive start to the competition for Sundowns as they seek a third regional title after previous triumphs in 2021 and 2023
Maravi Express
Mamelodi Sundowns made a statement of intent in their opening Group B match at the CAF Women’s Champions League-COSAFA qualifier Botswana 2026 as they thrashed eSwatini side and debutants, Nsingizini Hotspurs 8-0 yesterday.
Mamelodi are in same Group B with Malawi’s Silver Strikers, who beat Mozambican side Costa do Sol 2-1 — coming from a goal behind.
Silver, who are also appearing at the COSAFA qualifier for the first time, will tomorrow meet Mamelodi, who a seeking a third regional title after previous triumphs in 2021 and 2023.
It was an impressive start to the competition for Sundowns, that saw Lelona Daweti and Refilwe Tholakele both grabbing hat-tricks, who were seven goals to the good by halftime following a devastating opening 45 minutes.
Daweti opened the scoring after nine minutes before Isabella Ludwig doubled the advantage three minutes later and went on to strike three times in the space of four minutes to effectively put the contest beyond their eSwatini opponents before the midway point of the first half.
Tholakele got her first on 17 minutes, Daweti added another a minute later and then completed her hat-trick on 20 minutes as Sundowns raced into a 5-0 lead.
There was no respite for Nsingizini as Tholakele added her second on 31 minutes before completing her own treble on the stroke of halftime to make it 7-0.
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The pace of the scoring slowed considerably after the break, but Sundowns remained firmly in control and added an eighth goal through 17-year-old Sandra Mugwara on 76 minutes.
Sundowns have equalled their biggest ever win in the competition, when they defeated Olympic de Moroni from Comoros by the same scoreline in 2024.
In the earlier fixture, Mozambique’s Costa do Sol took the lead inside 24 seconds against debutants Silver Strikers, but ended up losing 2-1 after the Malawians fought back late on.
Lucia Moçambique took advantage of some hesitant defending to poke the ball into the back of the net from the edge of the box as the goalkeeper and defenders stood static.
Ireen Khumalo was voted Player of the Match for her overall performance
That was the way it stayed until the 69th minute, when Strikers struck back. International Ireen Khumalo’s excellent free-kick from the right was too powerful for the goalkeeper and went in off the underside of the crossbar.
Strikers grabbed the winning goal with five minutes remaining as a long ball was perfectly weighted for Grace Kakangula to run onto, and she beat the goalkeeper to make it 2-1.
Group A continues today when Lesotho Defence Force face last year’s beaten finalists ZESCO Ndola Girls with both sides having experienced contrasting fortunes in their opening matches.
LDF pushed defending champions Gaborone United all the way on Thursday, taking an early lead through Reitumetse Namane before eventually going down 2-1 to a late goal.
They will need another disciplined display against a ZESCO side that made an emphatic start with a 5-2 victory over Herentals Queens.
International Eneless Phiri and Charity Mubanga both scored twice for the Zambians, with Penelope Mulubwa also on target as last year’s runners-up underlined their title credentials.
Hosts and defending champions Gaborone United then face Herentals Queens, seeking a second successive victory after their dramatic comeback against LDF.
Herentals showed attacking threat in their opener, with Natasha Benza and Catherine Gwangwara finding the net, but will need to tighten up defensively against the holders.
With the top two teams in the pool advancing to the semi-finals, the next games’ results could go a long way towards shaping the qualification picture.
All games will be streamed live on FIFA+ and COSAFA’s YouTube Channel to a global audience.—Reporting by COSAFA Media; editing by Maravi Express
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