The battle for the Cosafa Men’s Under-20 Championship will go down to the wire following yesterday’s one-all draw between Malawi and Angola at Dr Have Geingob Stadium in Windhoek, Namibia.
Malawi still top the group with four points going into their last match against hosts Namibia tomorrow.
They are tied on points with the Angolans while Zimbabwe and Namibia had no point going into their clash yesterday.
In yesterday’s match, after some early lethargy, Malawi put their act together and took the lead through their Germany-bound wonderboy Mwisho Mhango’s 20-metre cracker in the 17th minute.
They piled pressure on the Angolans, hitting the post three times from Kondwani Tebulo, Madalitso Safuli and Mhango’s attempts.
But the Angolans held on and levelled the scores through Clemente Goncalves.
There was not much to write home about in the second stanza as both sides exercised caution.
Malawi coach Millias Pofera Jegwe said in an interview that he was satisfied with the result.
He said: “Considering the nature of the competition, it is a good result.
“We expected a tough match and Angola gave us a good game.
“I am optimistic that we will sail through to the semis. We just need to work on the lapse in concentration towards the end because we take the lead, but we needlessly concede.”
Meanwhile, the Malawi Under-20 Women’s National Football Team must win their last group match against Zimbabwe tomorrow to have a realistic chance of progressing to the semis.
This follows their 1-0 loss to Botswana yesterday at University of Namibia Stadium.
Malawi have a point while Botswana sealed their qualification as they now have six points with a game against the hosts to spare.
Malawi under-20 women’s coach Linda Kasenda conceded that the result puts them in a tight situation.
