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Staff Reporter
THE University of the Western Cape (UWC) women’s football team delivered a dominant performance, thrashing Young Buffaloes of Eswatini 6-0 on Thursday to secure their place in the final of the 2024 CAF Women’s Champions League COSAFA qualifiers in Malawi.
UWC will face Gaborone United of Botswana on Saturday afternoon to determine the regional qualifiers, who will represent COSAFA in the eight-team CAF Women’s Champions League later this year.
This will be UWC’s second final in about two weeks, following their victory in the Varsity Football Women’s title on August 9.
They are currently second in the Hollywoodbets Super League – South Africa’s premier women’s football league.
At a packed Mpira Stadium in Malawi, UWC opened the scoring as early as the 7th minute, with Nondumiso Manengela converting a penalty after goalkeeper Philisa Mjambane brought her down in the box.
Captain Bongeka Gamede doubled the lead in the 26th minute when she netted her third goal of the tournament with a fine header from a corner.
The score remained 2-0 at halftime, but in the 65th minute, UWC extended their lead when substitute Ntombifikile Ndlovu capitalised on a goalkeeper error to slot in a rebound. Tiffany Kortjie, Koketso Mamabolo and Sibulele Holweni also found the back of the net, adding to the definitive result.
Coach Thinasonke Mbuli praised her team’s strong overall performance, acknowledging the challenges of the qualifiers.
“Our motto is, ‘One game at a time,’ and we’re not done yet. We have one more game to go. Gaborone United, our opponents in the final, are a solid team with experienced players who represent Botswana at the national level.
“They’re the only team that hasn’t lost a match in this tournament, which says a lot about them. If we give them time and space, we’ll be in trouble. We won’t take them for granted.”
Meanwhile, UWC’s dominance in the tournament is reflected in the CAF Women’s Champions League COSAFA Qualifiers team of the group stage, where five of the 11 top players are from UWC.
These include goalkeeper Siphesihle Dlamini, who conceded only two goals in the group stages; defenders Gamede (who scored twice during the group stage) and her Banyana Banyana teammate Fikile Magama; as well as midfielder Amogelang Motau and forward Noxolo Cesane.
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