SA finally click to trounce Namibia
Host nation South Africa belatedly clicked in the Cosafa Cup southern Africa championship with a 4-1 triumph over Namibia Tuesday in a plate semi-final.
In the final this Friday this will meet Botswana, who sealed a 2-0 victory over Swaziland with a stoppage-time goal in northern city Polokwane.
A small crowd at chilly Peter Mokaba Stadium were thrilled to see seven goals in the double-header after the quarter-finals in the main competition delivered just three.
The quarter-finals losers dropped to the plate competition and South Africa regained some pride after a shock defeat by Madagascar last Sunday.
Stung by public and media criticism after wasting several good scoring chances against the Malagasy, South Africa responded positively against the Namibians.
Aubrey Modiba converted a penalty to put the home side ahead and Lebohang Maboe scored either side of a goal for Namibia by Deon Hotto to give South Africa a 3-1 half-time advantage.
Any hopes of a second-half comeback by Namibia were dashed on 54 minutes when South Africa captain Siyanda Xulu tapped the ball into the net at the far post.
"We were determined to do better tonight after losing to Madagascar and the character of the team came through," said man-of-the-match award winner Maboe.
Botswana sharpshooter Onkabetse Makgantai became the leading scorer in the tournament with five goals by breaking the deadlock after nine minutes against Swaziland.
But it took the dominant 'Zebras' another 84 minutes to clinch victory when a corner struck the shoulder of Gape Mohutsiwa en route to the net.
On Wednesday, Madagascar meet Zambia and Lesotho face defending champions and record five-time title-holders Zimbabwe in the Cosafa Cup semi-finals.
Form favours a repeat of the 2017 final in which Zimbabwe overcame Zambia 3-1, also in South Africa.