By GARY LEMKE in Lilongwe
A relentless display by Team SA’s under-17 football girls saw them put six goals past Namibia in each half as they romped to a 12-0 win at the Region V Games in Lilongwe, Malawi, on Saturday.
Captain Gositang Motshegwe set the tone for the match by scoring in the second minute. Sinazo Ntshota made it 2-0 two minutes later and when Ntando Phahla netted in the 13th minute, the result was already a foregone conclusion.
South Africa had opened their campaign, which doubles as a Cosafa Under-17 Championship qualifier, by beating Malawi 4-1 and they brought their dominant form into this match at the Bingu National Stadium.
Further goals by Olwethu Sobiso (30th min), Nobahle Mdelwa (31st min) and Andrielle Mibe (42nd min) made it 6-0 at the interval. Goalkeeper Casey Gordon, who was celebrating her 15th birthday, had such a quiet time that coach Victoria Mbatha decided to give her a proper rest for the second half. Not that Shifaa Hoossen had much more to do in the second half.
It took only a minute after the interval for Mibe to get her second goal of the game and her fourth of the tournament – she was later named player of the match – before Mdelwa also grabbed her second, this time from the penalty spot. There’s no mercy rule in football, but if there was the teams would have been called off the field with South Africa
8-0 up after 48 minutes.
Perhaps the best goal of the game came in the 65th minute when Sosibo rifled home from long range. Substitutes Julia Gonsalves (71st min) and Tatiana Correia (81st min) also got in on the act before Naledi Nkosi signed off on the 12-0 rout in the 90th minute.
Remarkably, nine different players got onto the scoresheet.
“I didn’t think we’d score so many goals,” admitted coach Mbatha. “We didn’t want to underestimate the opposition as we wanted to qualify top of the group ahead of the semi-finals.
“I’m happy with the result but also the commitment shown. The girls have trained hard over the last 10 days and this gives us a lot of confidence for the semi-finals. I told them at half-time that we hadn’t won the game yet and to keep their focus and keep trying.”
South Africa’s win came at the cost of two injuries, with Phahla limping off in the 20th minute and Ntshota didn’t come out after half-time. However, both injuries perhaps looked worse than they are, with indications that they will be fit for the semi-final.
Photos: ROGER SEDRES
Source: Team SA
