Zambia lifts Cosafa Cup

Zambia returned to winning ways in the Cosafa Cup on Saturday as Tapson Kaseba scored the only goal of the game in a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Botswana in the final of the annual southern African championship.

It was the fifth time that Zambia had been crowned regional champions but their first success since 2013.

It took until the 78th minute to decide the outcome at Durban’s Moses Mabhida Stadium on Saturday as Botswana lost in a final for a second time.

Botswana, who were also beaten in the 2016 decider, did not take advantage of their first half dominance against a new-look Zambian side, led by Aggrey Chiyangi after their failure to qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations finals in Egypt.

But with 12 minutes left Zambia finally got the breakthrough when Kaseba stooped to score with his head.

The goal hero could have had a second shortly after, and put the result beyond doubt, but he struck the crossbar.

On Friday, holders Zimbabwe ensured the bronze medal by edging Lesotho5-4 on post-match penalties after a 2-2 draw in the third place play-off.

Gerald Phiri of Malawi was named Player of the Tournament. –BBC