Bafana B side overcome Zimbabwe to keep hope for semifinals of Cosafa Cup alive

Bafana Bafana ‘B’ team defeated their neighbours Zimbabwe 2-0 to register their first win of the 2025 Cosafa Cup under way in Bloemfontein.

South Africa scored a goal in each half during the Group A’s match at Free State Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Orlando Pirates star Kabelo Dlamini scored a penalty five minutes before the halftime break while SuperSport United’s young defender Ime Okon found the back of the net through an impressive header on 78 minutes.

Bafana needed to win the match to place themselves in a better position to proceed to the next round of the tournament.

The Vela Khumalo-coached outfit started their participation this year with a disappointing 1-0 loss to Mozambique, who are top of the pool by four points after their second outing ended in a draw with Mauritius.

South Africa are now second in Group A while Mauritius are third with two points as Zimbabwe find themselves at the foot of the table with just a single point next to their name.

Khumalo's men displayed a good performance and created tons of opportunities, which were either not used or well defended by their opponents.

There were excellent performances from players such as Boitumelo Radiopane, Masindi Nemtajela, who is heavily linked with a move to Pirates, Man of the Match Kamogelo Sebelebele, Siphesihle Mkhize and Gape Moralo.

Nemtajela won the penalty that saw the hosts score their first goal of the competition this year.

The Marumo Gallants forward gave the Zimbabweans defenders a tough time and combined well with Radiopane.

Okon’s goal came from a well-taken free kick by Moralo. Bafana will hope to give  another solid display when they face Mauritius in the last match of the group stages at Seisa Ramabodu Stadium in Bloemfontein at 3pm on Tuesday.

Only the winners of the group will proceed to the semifinals.