By COSAFA Media Group
Zambia became the second country, after South Africa, to lift the men’s Confederation of Southern Africa Football Associations (COSAFA) Under-17 Championship after a 2-0 victory over Mozambique in Sunday’s final played at the Mpira Stadium in Blantyre.
They first won the gold medal in 2017 and Sunday’s match was also as deserved as they proved the most complete on the squads on display.
Happy moment for Zambian player
Zambia scored 20 goals in their five games at the tournament, an average of four per match, with Rickson Ng’ambi becoming joint top scorer with five goals.
The other five-goal scorers were Simon Cipriano from Mozambique and Valdemiro Domingos from Angola.
The other scorers from the 20 scored for Zambia were Moses Mulenga with four goals, Joseph Banda, Peter Chikola, Miguel Chirwa and , Charles Mumba with two goals each.
Third place Angola receive medals
The others with one goal were Julius Kumwenda, Lasmond Phiri and Chipyoka Songa.
After a goalless first half in which Zambia were largely dominant, they took the lead on 52 minutes.
Peter Chikola overlapped on the far side after a quick one-two with Joseph Banda. Julius Kumwenda laid the ball off for Banda on the edge of the box, who curled it into the far corner of the net.
Zambia were reduced to 10 players six minutes later when Chikola picked up his second yellow card but Ng’ambi made it 2-0 on the 74th as Mulenga beat two defenders and rounded the goalkeeper before laying it off for Ng’ambi to score the insurance goal.
Golden Boot winner Valdemiro Domingos from
Angola
In third place play-off, last year’s champions Angola claimed the bronze medal with a comprehensive 5-0 win over Eswatini.
Valdemiro Domingos scored four goals (15’, 29’, 68’, 84’) while the 5th was an OG by Muhongo in 39th. Domingos was also named Man of the Match.
Zambia’s forward Moses Mulenga was named Player of the Tournament, while his compatriot Iford Mwale won the Golden Glove as best goalkeeper.
Eswatini claimed the Fair Play prize.
The dignitaries before the final
Hosts Malawi, who started the tournament on a high note by beating South Africa 3-0, were eliminated in group stages.
Total goals they scored were five from Dave Tobias with two goals and one each from, Frank Mahowa, Noel Sakala and Chikumbutso Salima.
The 16 total games played produced 50 goals and the biggest victory was South Africa 0 Zambia 7 in the group stages.—Additional Reporting by Duncan Mlanjira