Continental champions Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies got their Hollywoodbets COSAFA Women’s Champions League zonal qualifier to a sizzling start with a comprehensive 8-1 victory over Mozambique’s Costa Do Sol at the Sugar Ray Xulu Stadium in Durban on Sunday.
A superb first half saw Melinda Kgadiete and Andisiwe Mgcoyi bag impressive braces in a one-sided first half. Captain Zanele Nhlapho also got into the act with a well-taken penalty as The Brazilians took a commanding 5-0 lead into the break.
After the restart, Miche Minnies and Salome Kekana who were making their CAF debuts found the back of the net. Rhoda Mulaudzi also registered her name on the score sheet as the Continental Champions scored their eighth on the afternoon.
The visitors, who were making their debut in the competition got a late consolation thanks to a well-converted penalty from Cidalia Cuta. That did little to dampen the mood as Sundowns Ladies eased to a huge 8-1 victory.
Following her glorious double, Kgadiete was named Woman of the Match, “I am so happy with our performance because we created so many chances. We showed our superiority in the contest right from the blast of the whistle. Although I felt we could have scored more, but that is an issue we intend to address in our subsequent fixtures. The goals made me happy, but I am more excited with the overall performance of our team.”
Despite scoring eight times, Coach Jerry ‘Kappa’ Tshabalala believes his team was capable of scoring much more.
“The plan was to dominate the ball and create goal-scoring chances early on and we did that. Our strikers were alert and converted their chances, but we could have done much more with the chances that we created. Nevertheless, we did well against a team that we had little knowledge of, and I must praise my team for their solid tempo from start to finish. Overall, our opponents showed their bravery despite the lack of competitive games under their belt. Had they had competitive games before this tie, we could have been telling a different story now,” Kappa stated.
Up next for Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies is a clash against last season’s semifinalists Double Action Ladies from Botswana.
The winner of the COSAFA zonal qualifier will advance to the 2022 TotalEnergies CAF Women’s Champions League finals to be held in Morocco later in the year.
