Zambia coach felt Banyana deserved victory

Zambia coach Bruce Mwape conceded that Banyana Banyana were the better side over the 90 minutes and deserved to progress to the Women's AFCON final.

The Copper Queens reached the semi-final stage of the continental showpiece for the first time in their history and put on quite the show during the first 45 minutes.

READ: Ellis dedicates WAFCON final to class of 2018

However, Banyana's defence and goalkeeper Andile Dlamini proved too strong for the Zambian attack, which Mwape admitted were not as sharp in the second stanza.

"I'm very disappointed with the result. In the first half, it was evenly contested, although I feel we could have won the game in the first half," Mwape told the media after the match.

"In the second half, we created very few chances so the result to me is a true reflection of what it was supposed to be."

South Africa ultimately advanced thanks to a late Linda Motlhalo penalty, which many argued was dubious given the nature of the collision as well as the positioning on the end of the 18-yeard box.

"To me, I've got no idea [what happened]. I'm sure that penalty was decided by the referee and the cameras," he added.

On the shift in momentum in the second half, Mwape felt the tactical changes effected by Desiree Ellis and her charges proved the difference.

"I'm sure even South Africa also changed their tactics because they saw that they were on the receiving end, so they actually decided to make some changes and those made a difference to their side," he concluded.

By Web Admin