Natasha Nanyangwe’s late goal fired Zambian Champions Green Buffaloes past Western Cape of South Africa in their Group A opening match at the 2024 CAF Women’s Champions League | COSAFA qualifiers on Thursday afternoon in Blantyre.
End-to-end action characterised the hotly contested encounter, with both teams appearing strong to emerge victorious. But in the first half, none struck the back of the net.
Following the restart, Buffaloes had some chances but all in vain and so did their South African opponents who appeared determined to atleast grab a point.
Substitute Nanyangwe turned heroine for the 2022 Cosafa Champions as she headed home from close range following a corner to fire her side into the lead in the 75th minutes. That was enough to secure three points for the Zambia Army side.
Buffaloes won the title two years ago, defeating Sundowns on penalties in the final after a hard-fought 0-0 draw, and have advanced to the knockout rounds in each of their previous three Cosafa appearances.
They lost 1-0 to Sundowns in the 2021 semifinals and were defeated again in the last four by the South African club in 2023.
Having previously competed in the 2022 CAF Women’s Champions League in Morocco where they exited in the group stages, Carol Kanyemba’s girls will now be confident after today’s win.
Their next game will be against Herental Queens of Zimbabwe on Saturday, before concluding the group against FC Onges Ladies from Namibia.
The winners of the tournament will qualify for the 2024 CAF Women’s Champions League finals to join holders Mamelodi Sundowns who gained automatic qualification.
