Moyela Libamba scored the only goal as Zambia claimed a record seventh HOLLYWOODBETS COSAFA Cup title with a 1-0 victory over Lesotho in a thrilling final played at a packed King Zwelithini Stadium in Durban on Sunday.
It was a tense and hard-fought decider that could have gone either way, but defending champions Zambia retain their crown and move ahead of Zimbabwe on the all-time winners’ list.
Lesotho were hoping to become the sixth nation to lift the coveted Southern African title but, like in 2000 in their only other final appearance, they have to settle for the silver medal.
So still only Zambia (7 titles), Zimbabwe (6), South Africa (5), Angola (3) and Namibia (1) have been victorious.
Lesotho thought they had the lead in the second half when Motebang Sera had the ball in the back of the net, a ‘goal’ that would have taken him to within one of Felix Badenhorst (nine) in the all-time scorers charts in the COSAFA Cup.
stead it was ruled offside in the tightest of calls, showing the thin margins between success and failure. It was therefore Zambia’s moment to celebrate as Libamba Moyela rose powerfully to head home a corner on 78 minutes and provide what proved the pivotal moment in the game