• national side pummelled by Botswana’s Zebras

Moorosi Tsiane

LIKUENA’S chances of advancing to the semi-finals of the 2021 COSAFA Cup edition have taken a huge knock. This after they were convincingly beaten 4-0 by Botswana at Wolfson Stadium in Port Elizabeth yesterday.

The loss was Likuena’s heaviest at this year’s edition. They came into the match on the back of a shock 2-1 victory over defending champions, Zambia.

Botswana were desperate for a win after their 1-0 loss to hosts, South Africa in their opening match on Tuesday.

But a hattrick from Tumisang Orebonye and a solitary goal by Thatayaone Kgamanyane gave the Zebras a deserved victory over Leslie Notši’s charges.

Following the defeat, Likuena dropped to the bottom of Group A with three points from as many matches. They lost 3-1 to eSwatini in their opening match on Tuesday.

Lesotho is in Group A alongside South Africa, eSwatini, Zambia and Botswana.

There have been changes in the playing format as there are no longer three but two groups of five teams each in this year’s SOSAFA edition. This after the late withdrawal of Madagascar from the tournament.

The top two nations in each group will advance to the semi-finals of the regional tournament.

Group B comprises of West African guest nation, Senegal, Zimbabwe, Namibia and Mozambique.

Following yesterday’s loss, Notši admitted that his charges have a mountain against South Africa in their final group match to climb if they are to reach the semi-finals.

“It will be a very tough game against South Africa but then it will be a different ball game altogether,” a visibly disappointed Notši said in his post-match interview.

“We had it tough today, especially our defence so we need to go back on work on our defending and manage situations better.

“However, it is not all over. We will have to go back work on our short falls and come back a better side. Today, Botswana were the better team as they were fresh. The loss should serve as a wakeup call for us,” Notši added.