Thu, 08 Dec 2016 06:49:53 +0000
By Bennie Mundando
ZAMBIA under-20 yesterday began their quest for the COSAFA glory on a flying note with a convincing 5-1 over Zimbabwe at Moruleng Stadium in South Africa.
The game started on a dull note with most of the action parked in the middle of the pitch as bitter rivals tried to create enough space for free-flowing football.
But it was Zambia who settled down quickly with Patson Daka proving to be a thorn at the opponent’s defenders with his dazzling runs and skills on the ball.
Zambia would have found the back of the net before the half hour mark after the junior Chipolopolo Boys mounted pressure, pinning their opponents in their own half
However brilliant goalkeeping by Zimbabwe’s Nelson Chadya kept the Copper Bullets at bay.
Zambia’s real chance to break the deadlock came in the 22nd minute but Chadya again denied Chrispin Sakulanda an opener when he launched a loose ball with a glancing volley which was decisively saved.
Chadya again rose to the occasion when it mattered most by making two saves in quick succession in the 31st and 33rd minutes as Zambia menacingly threated the Zimbabweans and continued toying with the ball most of the time to create space upfront to exploit their neighbours.
But Chadya succumbed to pressure when Daka found the back of the net with a brilliant goal after robbing the advancing goalkeeper and coolly slotted the ball past the goalminder to break the deadlock in the 41st minute.
The goal motivated the Junior Chipolopolo who ran riot, tearing the opponents apart at will with precise split passes and the aggression.
That approach paid dividends after an Edward Chilufya header three minutes later doubled the advantage for Zambia who went for the break leading 2-0.
Zimbabwe came from the breaklooking for goals and only lasted four minutes on the pitch before they launched a brilliant move which ended with substitute Thomas Kadyaridzire’s scorcher being parried by Jacob Banda at full stretch.
That scare awakened Zambia as the boys continued pressing high and a third came at the hour mark when Sakulanda intelligently chipped the ball beyond Chadya to ink his name on the scoresheet before Fashion Sakala made it four goals with 82 minutes played.
Zimbabwe grabbed the face-saver via a penalty scored by Bukhosi Sibanda but it was Moses Nyondo who put the icing on the cake with the fifth goal for Zambia at the stroke of full time.
In the other matches played yesterday, Swaziland beat Botswana 2-0 while hosts South Africa were leading Lesotho 3-0 at the break.
