Bafana maul Mozambique to reach first Cosafa Cup final in five years

Yusuf Maart continued his fantastic form in the 2021 Cosafa Cup with a splendid strike as Bafana Bafana beat Mozambique 3-0 in a semifinal at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth yesterday.

Maart curled in a wonderful effort from the edge of the box just before the hour mark to put Mozambique 2-0 down and out of sight, as Morena Ramoreboli’s side set up a meeting in the final with Senegal tomorrow.

The 25 year-old Sekhukhune United midfielder, who was once on the books of Orlando Pirates, followed up a man-of-the-match display against Zambia on Wednesday with another excellent performance here, as South Africa reached their first Cosafa Cup final in five years.

There was still time for Bloemfontein Celtic striker Victor Letsoalo to win and convert a penalty for his fourth goal in two games at this Cosafa Cup, having netted a hat trick on his Bafana debut in a 4-0 win over Lesotho in the group stages.

South Africa have also still yet to concede a goal in the competition, in five games, a credit to the Bafana coaching staff in a tournament that has not been easy in terms of preparations being disrupted by Covid-19.

Kaizer Chiefs’ new defensive signing Njabulo Ngcobo started this game, and it was he who netted the opening goal, heading Siyethemba Sithebe’s first half free kick past the Mozambique goalkeeper Ernan.