* She shares three goals with four others that qualified for the semifinals — Lelona Daweti & Refilwe Tholakele (Mamelodi Sundowns) and Charity Mubanga & Eneless Phiri (ZESCO Ndola)
* Mozambican side Costa do Sol’s Lucia Moçambique leads the top goal scorer chart with 4 goals but her team did not advance to the semis
By Duncan Mlanjira
The hat-trick that Carolyn Mathyola score when Silver Strikers Ladies beat eswatini side Nsingizini Hotspurs 5-1-to qualify for the semifinals of the CAF Womens Champions League COSAFA qualifier, has put her in the race for Golden Boot.
She first shrugged of her marker, rounded off the goalkeeper to claim her hat-trick
From the 12 matches played, 44 goals have been scored of which four were from Mozambican side Costa do Sol’s Lucia Moçambique.
However, Costa do Sol failed to qualify for the semifinals and coming right behind her are five players with three goals apiece — Mathyola, Lelona Daweti and Refilwe Tholakele of Mamelodi Sundowns and Zambia side ZESCO Ndola’s Charity Mubanga and Eneless Phiri.
Grace Kakangula, who scored when the Silver Ladies beat Costa do Sol 2-1 in opening Group B match and in Tuesday’s 5-1 win, is also in contention for the Golden Boot with two goals alongside Karabo Dhlamini and Isabella Ludwig, both of Mamelodi Sundowns.
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Gladys Banda and Ireen Khumalo each have one goal with Khumalo’s — from a long range free kick when leveling the scores against Costa do Sol as touted as goal of the tournament and from her overall performance, she was named Player of the Match.
Meanwhile, after yesterday’s matches, the Silver Ladies will meet Zambia’s ZESCO Ndola Girls for the semifinals tomorrow at 16h00 CAT while the two-time African champions Mamelodi Sundowns will face defending champions Gaborone United at 19h00 CAT — both matches to be streamed live on FIFA+ and COSAFA’s YouTube Channel.
Sundowns defeated Costa do Sol of Mozambique 4-0 to finish top of Group B, while Silver Strikers were too good for eSwatini’s Nsingizini Hotspurs winning 5-1 and advanced in second place.
Silver’s match has been described by COSAFA Media as “a fixture that is perhaps tougher to call, and another battle between old foes Zambia and Malawi on the COSAFA stage”.
“ZESCO were beaten finalists last year and perhaps have the greater experience, but Silver Strikers have shown enough in this tournament to suggest they can be a match for anyone,” says the COSAFA Media.
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