Twiga earn praise as they face Namibia for third slot in Cosafa Cup

Dar es Salaam. Tanzania’s national women’s football team (Twiga Stars) head coach Bakari Shime has commended his players for fighting hard in the Cosafa Women’s Championship, despite failing to qualify for the final.

In the semifinal match, Twiga Stars lost 2-1 to Zambia, who have qualified for the final against South Africa. The final encounter is scheduled to be held today.

“The fixture was very tight as my players had to work hard to record good results. We are not happy because we have failed to defend our title. It is a lesson for us to learn as we prepare for other international competitions,” said Shime.

However, he said they are expecting to play with determination against Namibia in today’s third place encounter.

Barbara Banda netted her ninth goal in the competition to make Zambia lead against Twiga Stars, who, however, equalised when Copper Queens defender Lushomo Mweemba headed the ball into her own net.

That was the way it stayed until just after halftime, when Misozi Zulu put the Zambians back into the lead, which they held onto for the remainder of the game.

South Africa and Namibia looked to be heading for penalties having cancelled each other out, but a late goal from Lithemba Sam-Sam secured victory with eight minutes left on the clock.

It is her fourth of the competition as she was sent through on goal and rounded the keeper before supplying a neat finish.

All matches on finals day will be screened live on www.cosafa.tv and FIFA+, and will also be available on SuperSport, with selected games to be shown on SABC.

Meanwhile, the South Africa-Zambia encounter is expected to be the most thrilling one at the Wolfson Stadium from 4pm.

It sets up a mouth-watering final between the 2022 CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations bronze medallists Zambia and the gold medal winners South Africa, though this is a much-changed squad for the hosts without many of their leading stars.