U-17 women hit back at Bantwana, set for TZ

MOSES MWANZA writes@SunZambianTHE Zambia Women’s Under-17 has inflicted pain and avenged the 3-2 aggregate loss they suffered at the hands of South Africa in March this year in the 2021 India FIFA Women’s Under-17 World Cup Qualifier Match.Their opening 2020 COSAFA fixture saw them come up against stubborn host at Port Elizabeth’s Oval Stadium.“It’s the beginning of the next things that are coming. We have got a lot of games that are coming through. The girls are very determined and I could see a lot of hard work,” U17 women’s coach Kangwa Kaluba after the 2-1 win over Bantwana.Today they meet, the 2019 champions Tanzania in what is set to be another thrilling encounter.On Wednesday, Copper Princesses and Bantwana came head-to-head for the third time this year with a single win apiece and as expected it was always going to be a tight affair between two teams that always give each other a good run for the money, Simphiwe Dhlulu’s lasses were a better side especially in the first half and they managed to find the back of the net after the half-hour mark through substitute Nabeelah Galant after she ben-efited from poor ball keeping and also goalkeeping in the box from Chitete Munsaka whose mind went off a bit to gift the home side with a 1-nil lead on a silver platter.However, Taonga Chulu restored parity for the Princesses with a great close-range finish after the ball came off the crossbar before the mesmerizing Midfielder Cindy Banda scored the winner in the 88th minute to make sure the coach Kaluba Kangwa tutored lasses secure maximum results with a hard-fought 2-1 victory.This result has sent Zambia on second position in the pool on 3 points at par with Tanzania who earlier on at the same venue silenced Comoros 5-1 to lead the table with a superior goal difference.The Copper Princesses’ next match against log leaders Tanzania, who are the guest nation at this year’s cham-pionship, will be played at the same venue and will Kick-off at 12h30.Elsewhere, the Copper Queens outclassed Lesotho 8 – nil in their Group B opener to sound warning shots to Malawi who are their next opponents on Monday to wrap up the group stage.The Coach Bruce Mwape led side had started the game on a low note and struggled in the first half missing sev-eral chances, however, Captain of the side Barbara Banda scored the first goal at the half-hour mark and it was the difference separating the two sides going into the break. – ZAMFOOT. The Sun