Zambian champions Zesco Ndola Girls have eliminated South African champions Mamelodi Sundowns from the CAF Women’s Champions League|Cosafa qualifiers after beating them 2-1 to storm the COSAFA final for the first time.

Sundowns drew first blood through Boitumelo Rabale in the 45th minute, right before the halftime break. In the second stanza, the Zambian champions were determined to get back into the match, and their fighting spirit paid off in the 53rd minute when Eneless Phiri capitalized on a goalkeeping mistake by Andile to slot home the equalizer.

The match appeared evenly balanced, but just when everyone thought it was headed for post-match penalties, a back pass went astray and Fridah Kabwe pounced on the loose ball, striking straight at Andile, who for the second time failed to deal with it as she watched it roll past her into the net to make it 2-1.

Kabwe again scored in the 90th minute, but after a lengthy VAR check, her second goal of the match was disallowed for offside.

This is the first time Sundowns have failed to qualify for the final of the Cosafa, which also means they will miss the CAF Women’s Champions League finals.

“If we are to be honest, the better team won today. I think they were better than us, they wanted it more, they fought, they dominated the second balls. I think we were really poor today,” Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies head coach Godfrey Sapula said after the match.

William Zulu confident ahead of final

For the winning coach, William Zulu was impressed with his girls and said their group-stage 1-0 loss to Sundowns was due to a defensive approach, but this time they played their game.

“Today, the girls came positively. The first game we played, as I said, we didn’t know how Sundowns play, we had just watched them on television, and some people in Zambia said when you go there, they will score you, so in the first game we wanted to defend, and we hoped the worst result could have been a draw, but we failed. Today we played our usual game,” Zulu said.

With qualification for the CAF Women’s Champions League on the line, Zesco will face Gaborone United in the final on Sunday to decide the team that will represent the Southern African region at the continental showpiece.

On the final, Zulu said: “It will be very difficult than this one [against Sundowns], because they are watching us and I know they are a good side, they are not a pushover but we just have to work hard so that we get a positive result.”

Gaborone United thrashed Mozambique’s Costa Do Sol to reach the final and will look to win the COSAFA title for the first time, having lost last year’s edition to Sundowns in the final.

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