South Africa’s Amajimbos failed at the final hurdle after losing 3-1 on penalties against Namibia in the final of the U17 Cosafa Cup in Mauritius on Sunday.

With the match deadlocked at 1-1 after 90 minutes, the final went straight to penalties and the Namibians, who had lost to Amajimbos 4-0 in the group stages, completed an amazing turnaround, reports Safa.net.

The Namibian side took the lead in the 64th minute when substitute Godwin Awaseb blazed the ball past South African goalkeeper Glen Baadjies to open the scoring for his side. The Amajimbos, who went into the final as favourites, equalised six minutes later when striker Thabiso Monyane scored a screamer to level the scores in the 70th minute.

The striker failed to put the Amajimbos in the lead with five minutes left to play but his effort was wide of the Namibian goal. The miss proved to be costly as the match went to penalties with Namibia emerging as 3-1 winners.

The South African U17 side will now take on Tanzania in the first leg of the U17 Afcon on August 6.

The return leg is scheduled for August 21 at the Dar es Salaam, with the winner qualifying for the African Youth Championships finals in Madagascar next year.

Image: Safa website