Bafana Bafana defeated Namibia 1-0 to be crowned Cosafa Cup plate champions at the Moruleng Stadium on Friday evening, writes MARSHALL GOUTS.

The host nation failed in their bid to retain their Cosafa Cup crown, losing 1-0 against Tanzania in their quarter-final clash. Bafana aimed to salvage some pride after getting to the plate final with a 2-0 victory against Botswana.

Stuart Baxter made three changes to the side that overcame The Zebras, with Boalefa Pule, Lorenzo Gordinho and Judas Moseamedi returning to the starting line-up.

Bafana made the worst possible start to the encounter, when the referee awarded Namibia for a penalty following an infringement by Malepe in the 5th minute, but Baxter’s charges’ blushes were spared as captain Ronald Ketjijere missed the resultant spot kick.

The penalty woke the home side up as they upped their efforts in search of the opener, and they came close in the ninth minute when Mothobi Mvala latched on to a loose ball in the area, but failed to direct his effort on target.

Namibia continued to pile the pressure on the home side and looked particularly threatening from the left flank.

Moseamedi came close to opening the scoring in the 24th minute when he latched on  to a fine ball by Mohau Mokate, but the Cape Town City forward placed his effort straight into the hands of the goalkeeper.

South Africa broke the deadlock in the 35th minute after some sloppy defending by Ricardo Mannetti’s side when Mokate’s deflected shot went into the back of the net.

The home side took their 1-0 lead into the half-time break.

Baxter’s side emerged as the stronger outfit in the second stanza and almost doubled their advantage, but the Namibian defence recovered from their initial errors to clear their lines.

Moseamedi should have doubled Bafana’s lead in the 57th minute when he was put through clean on goal, but the forward’s lobbed attempt on the onrushing keeper went wide of the mark.

Gordinho did well to deflect a goalbound shot for corner in the 65th minute, following a good spell by the Namibians.

Bafana did most of the attacking in the second half, but could not find their way past a resilient Namibian side. The home side survived a scare in the 75th minute when Denzil Haoseb’s header crashed off the crossbar, before being cleared away for safety.

Baxter signalled his intent for the second goal as he introduced Liam Jordan for Riyaad Norodien. Namibia opted for an all-out attacking approach in the final exchanges, but Bafana Bafana held firm to secure a 1-0 victory to dethrone Namibia of their Cosafa Cup plate final title.

Photo: Samuel Shivambu/BackpagePix