Author: RAHEL PALLANGYO
AfricaPress-Tanzania: PLAYMAKER Aisha Masaka on Sunday scored five goals as the national Under-17 stunned hosts South Africa with a 6-1 victory to take a giant step towards the final of the 2020 COSAFA Women’s Under-17 Championship in Nelson Mandela Bay.
The tall Masaka took her tally for the competition to eight with a superb individual display that showcased all her pace and technical ability, as South Africa’s hopes of reaching the decider appear over.
Mwanamvua Haruna hit the crossbar early on as Tanzania started much the brighter, before her corner found its way into the back of the net off home defender Janica Andrews.
And then it became the ‘Masaka Show’ as she scored four times in the first half.
First a towering header from a cross, and then another from a Haruna corner.
Masaka then beat the offside trap and supplied a simple finish, before she sprinted clear of the defence to toepoke past the exposed South Africa goalkeeper.
The home side did pull one goal back in the second half when Shehat Mohamedi unwittingly turned the ball into her own net when a header from a teammate struck her in the face.
But Masaka had the last laugh as she crashed the ball into the back of net in injury-time to finish on a high. Meanwhile, Zimbabwe rallied late on to claim a 3-2 victory over Comoros Islands in a sensational comeback that saw them score three goals in the final 13 minutes.
Zimbabwe had been defeated 7-0 by South Africa in their opener, ad looked on course for a second loss after Noussrat Mistoihi and Mohamed Dalila put Comoros 2-0 up in the first half.
Zimbabwe won a penalty just seconds before the break, and when Bethel Kondo saw her effort saved by Comoros goalkeeper Said Amina it looked as though it would not be their day.
But they continued to create chances at will and finally found a way back into the game when Morelife Nyagumbo crashed in a floated shot from the edge of the box on 78th minute.
