South Africa claimed a confident 2-0 victory over Zimbabwe in their second group match of the COSAFA Cup, delighting a spirited home crowd at the Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein on Saturday.
The match kicked off with intensity as South Africa showed attack intent from the opening whistle and within ten minutes of the first half, the home side had a golden opportunity to take the lead. Young striker Boitumelo Radiopane found himself in a one-on-one situation with Zimbabwean goalkeeper Martin Mapisa, but he dragged his shot wide.
South Africa’s persistence eventually paid off in the 36th minute when a rushing run by Nemtajela Masindi into the box drew a reckless challenge from the Zimbabwean rearguard, leaving the referee with no choice but to point to the penalty spot. The penalty had to verified by the VAR and when the decision passed the test, Kabelo Dlamini stepped up with composure and calmly slotted his kick home, sending the crowd into a frenzy and giving South Africa a deserved 1-0 lead.
The second half saw Zimbabwe push back in search of an equalizer, but the South African defense remained disciplined and composed. In the 78th minute, South Africa earned a free kick on the left flank and Ime Okon rose above the defenders to meet the ball with a towering header, steering it past the helpless goalkeeper and sealing the game with a stunning goal.
Coach Vela Khumalo couldn’t hide his pride as he walked off the pitch, beaming with satisfaction after the final whistle.
“Most definitely, this is the boost that we needed, however, we are still hopeful and we still saying Mozambique must win against Zimbabwe then you know…… But what we set out for ourselves is that we need to win the remaining game (in the group stages). We need to win against Mauritius and then we take it from there with the six points and see what happens from there.”
Khumalo conceded that they did not start the match very well and they are still missing a lot of chances they should be converting into goals. “But we were very positive after our thorough analysis that we are going to at least get goals out of this, win the game and move forward. But the pressure is always there when you play football.”
He said the performance was the outcome of a lot of work on the training field. “This is not a fluke, these are the things that we’ve done in the training sessions, where after our analysis we said this is how we are going to set things up, and we worked on it. It was not something coming out of nowhere.”
Khumalo acknowledge the team’s achievement but emphasized the need for improvement in converting scoring opportunities.
South Africa will face Mauritius in their final Group A match of the 2025 COSAFA Cup on Tuesday, June 10 at the Dr Petrus Molemela Stadium in Bloemfontein. Kick-off is at 15h00.
SOURCED FROM SAFA WEBSITE.