Basetsana down Zambia

Basetsana now have a healthy advantage going into the second leg that will be played in Zambia in two weeks time.

The hosts made their intentions early on hitting the back of the net in the first minute through midfielder Lerato Kgasago from a well-taken free kick. But it must also be said that the performance of the Zambia goalkeeper also left a lot to be desired. In the eighth minute it was the turn of another midfielder, Chantelle Esau, to increase the lead to two goals - this was an excellent long-range strike that gave the opposing keeper no chance. The ball hit the upright before going in.

Kate Nhlapho killed the match as a contest when she scored the third goal in the 29th minute. Lindeleni Magutshwa, who was not part of the team that defeated Reunion in the last round, justified her call-up with the fourth goal for Basetsana just a minute later.

The South Africans continued their dominance in the second half - with Nhlapho grabbing her second of the day, and the fifth for the hosts in the 58th minute.

Second half substitute Bontle Mashilo completed the demolition job when she got her name on the score sheet with a brilliant header in the 89t minute.

“It was a good game, the pitch was wet and a little heavy which we used to our advantage as they wanted the sun and we wanted the rain. We played a different game because we wanted to score a lot of goals - and we scored an early goal and another in the final minute. Well done to the whole team especially the defenders for not conceding, they understood that we should not let in any goals. There is more away we going to compete and attack, we still need to score a goal or two in Zambia to make sure we win the match,” said an elated Augustine Makalakalane, coach of Basetsana.

With a comfortable six-nil lead, Makalakalane will not take any chances and change his team around.

“I always try to keep the same team. Today we had a lot of players that scored - one of them even came from the bench - and it is good for the continuity of the team. On Friday we spent a lot of time on set pieces, and in the match we scored three, which is one element that we need to improve on going forward,” added the coach.