Africa-Press – Namibia. Zesco Ndola Girls produced a stunning upset of two-time continental champions Mamelodi Sundowns with a 2-1 victory in their CAF Women’s Champions League | COSAFA Qualifiers clash, setting up a final meeting with Gaborone United Ladies FC at the AW Muller Stadium in Johannesburg on Sunday.
Zesco came from behind to claim the win and book a final place in their debut tournament, while Gaborone United eased past Costa do Sol from Mozambique 3-1 as they look to improve on their silver medal from last year.
The final will be at the same venue with a 14h00 kick-off time (12h00 GMT).
Sundowns looked to be on their way to the decider when Lesotho international Boitumelo Rabale gave them the lead on the stroke of halftime, turning and firing low into the bottom corner of the net.
Zesco equalised after a howler from Sundowns goalkeeper Andile Dlamini, who spilled a simple take, and Eneless Phiri turned the ball into an empty net.
Sundowns had their chance to go ahead again, but it was Zesco who found the winner following another poor error from Dlamini.
Tiisetso Makhubela’s error put Fridah Kabwe through on goal, but the Zambian’s shot was tame and straight at Dlamini, who nonetheless spilled the ball into the net.
Kabwe thought she had secured the win when she got a third in injury time, firing into the net as Zesco caught Sundowns on the counterattack, but the goal was ruled out via a Video Assistant Referee check.
The defeat was the first ever in regulation time for Sundowns in the competition and arguably the biggest upset in CAF Women’s Champions League | Cosafa Qualifier history.
Gaborone United took the lead against Costa do Sol in the 16th minute when a sweeping move saw tournament top scorer Gaonyadiwe Ontlametse side-foot home as she found space in the box.
It was 2-0 just before halftime as Maungo Maponga’s volley from 25 yards floated into the back of the net for her fifth goal of the campaign.
Costa do Sol were back in it two minutes later as Samira Latifo scored a superb curling effort from the edge of the box, continuing the list of high-quality goals.
That remained until two minutes from the end when Ontlametse scored her seventh of the campaign, brilliantly chested down a cross and steered the ball into the back of the net.
Ontlametse extended her record number of goals in the competition to 13 and now holds the record for the most goals in a single campaign with seven. She also netted six times in the competition for Double Action Ladies between 2021 and 2023. Entrance for fans to the final will be FREE of charge. If you cannot get to the stadium, you can watch the game streamed live on Fifa+.
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