Africa-Press – Namibia. NAMIBIA’S under-17 Region Five Youth Games girls’ football challenge ended in a 2-1 semi-final defeat to Botswana, who in turn lost 4-0 to Zambia in the final on Monday.
Earlier on Monday, Botswana raced into a 2-0 lead against Namibia thanks to strikes from Tumelo Tiro and Kefilwe Hangara before half-time.
Anna Somses, however, pulled a goal back for the Namibians who needed to win the game to advance, but could not turn the tables on their opponents.
It was Namibia’s second successive defeat of the tournament, having gone down 2-0 to Zambia on Sunday.
That match was scheduled for Saturday, but had to be postponed due to a waterlogged pitch.
The Zambians were always in control of the game and took the lead on 11 minutes when Zangose Zulu scored from an assist by captain and eventual player of the match Lubasi Pumulo.
They then added a second just past the half-hour mark when Gracious Tailoshi netted to make it 2-0, which ensured they secured top spot in the pool.
Champions Zambia inflicted a second defeat on Botswana when cruising to the girls’ under-17 football crown.
Zambia finished the competition unbeaten in their three matches and without conceding a goal as they underlined their quality and lived up to their billing as the pre-tournament favourites.
They were deserved winners, with Jessy Zulu and Lucy Kajiya grabbing first-half goals, and skipper Pumulo Lubasi and Gracious Tailoshi adding two more in the second period to seal a hugely successful tournament.
Lubasi was named player of the tournament, which comes with the opportunity to spend a week in Spain as a guest of LaLiga Santander, where she will take in the sights and sounds of one of the world’s great footballing nations, train with an academy, and hopefully take in a LaLiga match.
Kajiya claimed the golden boot for her three goals that saw her as the leading scorer, while Zambia goalkeeper Chitete Munsaka takes home the golden glove. The team fair play award went to Botswana.
Meanwhile, Namibia bagged its first medals of the Games in the swimming competition, with bronzes for Trisha Mutumbulua (50m butterfly), Michaela Ohm (400m freestyle) and Lisa Engelhard (400m mixed medley).
In volleyball action, Namibia defeated Eswatini 2-0 in their tournament opener. They were due to play South Africa yesterday evening.
In boxing, Namibia’s Alfeus Modino beat Lebo Sekwaipe of Botswana to advance to the quarter-finals.
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