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ZESCO Ndola Girls coach, William Zulu, says his side remains in contention for a semifinal berth despite a narrow 1-0 defeat to South Africa’s Mamelodi Sundowns in the CAF Women’s Champions League | COSAFA Zone 2025 qualifiers in Johannesburg on Sunday.
The Zambian champions were undone by a 19th-minute strike from Sundowns’ Lesotho international forward Boitumelo Rabale, who scored from outside the box.
“Unfortunately we lost 1-0 but it’s not the end of the road. Ntopwa are not pushovers, we need to come and work extra hard on Tuesday to achieve what we want… we have to come seriously and pick points, then we go to the semifinals,” Zulu said in his post-match interview.
He acknowledged the challenge posed by Sundowns, saying their tactical discipline gave his side limited options.
“1-0 is not that bad — we are still coming back,” Zulu added, noting that a victory against Malawi’s Ntopwa will secure ZESCO’s place in the semifinals.
Sundowns, who remain unbeaten in the regional qualifiers, top Group A with six points.
ZESCO are second on three points, level with Namibia’s Beauties FC, who thrashed bottom-placed Ntopwa 3-0.
Sundowns only need a point in their next match against Beauties on Tuesday to advance, while ZESCO must win their fixture against Ntopwa to guarantee progression to the last four.
Contributed By SAMUEL LUKHANDA
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