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Angola punish Bafana in COSAFA Cup final

Bafana Bafana suffered a 3-0 defeat to Angola in the final of the COSAFA CUp on Sunday afternoon.

Bafana made a solitary change from the semi-final victory over Comoros, with Vuyo Letlapa coming in for Mduduzi Shabalala.

The chances were minimal in the opening stages, but the host nation showed a lot of promise through Gape Moralo and Kamogelo Sebelebele though were contained effectively.

Palancas Negras lived dangerously and nearly conceded midway in the first stanza when a pin-point header in the area by Ime Okon struck the crossbar.

The chances were presented to the visitors a little to halftime after a free-kick from a decent area but they couldn’t trouble goalkeeper Thakasani Mbanjwa.

Mbanjwa, however, was breached a minute to the break as a free-kick from the left of the area fell perfectly for Laurindo Aurelio, who headed into the bottom-corner.

Early in the second half, Bafana targeted a response through a snap shot by Boitumelo Radiopane from a sloppy clearance around the area, but goalkeeper Neblu scrambled across to make the save.

The Palancas Negras extended the lead in the 62nd minute when Aurelio sneaked in the centre of the defence and beat a diving Mbanjwa, taking his tally to eight goals in the competition.

Bafana decided to go on the front-foot eight minutes later and introduced Shabalala for Puso Dithejane while Victor Letsoalo came on for Kabelo Dlamini.

Orlando Pirates’ Radiopane nearly halved the deficit through a first-time volley from the centre of the six-yard area, but Neblu was equal to the task and tipped the effort over the crossbar.

Angola put the clash to bed nine minutes from time when a sumptuous free-kick on the edge of the area by Milson picked out the near corner - giving Mbanjwa no chance and handing Angola back-to-back COSAFA Cup titles.

Confirmed line-ups:

Angola: Cipriano, Jonathan, Fernando, Salvador, Francisco, Nanque, Nteka, Aurelio, Manuek, Gaspar, Cafumana

South Africa: Mbanjwa, Okon, McCarthy, Letlapa, Dithejane, Mngoyama, Moralo, Mkhize, Sebelebele, Dlamini, Radiopane

Subs: Mpoto, Msani, Mfolozi, Duba, Ramabu, Letsoalo, Shabalala, Gcaba, Nemtajela, Barns, Johnson, Mcaba

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