Durban — Botswana grabbed the all important three points with a 1-0 victory against Comoros while Angola proved too strong as they dispatched the Seychelles 3-0 at the King Zwelithini Stadium on Thursday.
Extension Gunners winger Boakeditswe Talane took advantage of a bad pass by Soulamaina Malaga to find Botswana's breakthrough five minutes before half time.
The speedy winger latched onto a poor ball before leaving a hapless Comoros defence on the floor and slotting home past Anziz Fahad who could only stand and watch in goal.
The Zebras of Botswana headed into this match knowing a victory would hand them the psychological advantage over group A qualification competitors.
With victory, Coach Mogomotsi Mpote's side would've guaranteed that they head into their last group match against Angola with their fate in their own hands.
The men from the Comoros island showed very little going forward and thus letting Botswana dictate the tempo of the match, leading to decent chances for the Zebras.
Comoros coach Mohamed Buhari rang the changes in the 59th minute as his side faved eviction from the competition.
Les Coelacantes introduced two forwards on Ali Nassim and Said Sadad in place of Abdullah Mohamed and Anoir Chamoune respectively and they sought to impose more of a goal threat upfront.
However the substitutions seemed to not pay off, in fact it was Botswana who stepped up a gear as the game approached the latter stages.
In the end Botswana did just enough to secure victory and climb back on top of group A for the time being with Angola set to kick off later.
The Angolans began their match against the Seychelles like a house on fire and were duly rewarded with a goal inside 15 minutes through striker Joao Diogo.
The G.D Interclube striker was first to react after Seychelles goalkeeper Alvin Michel parried a powerful shot in the middle of the goal, the 23 year old with just an easy tap-in to put his side 1-0 up.
Vanilson Zeu made an immediate impact after coming off the bench, getting fouled in the Seychelles penalty box and handing his side a chance to double their lead.
Petro Atletico midfielder maestro Pedro Miguel stepped up and sent the keeper the wrong way and put his side 2-0 in the 78th minute.
It was that man Vanilson again in the 90th minute. The speedy winger went on a marauding run before smashing the ball inside the near post and into the roof to seal an impressive Angola victory.
Coach Pedro Concalves made two changes on the right hand side of his team that seemed to have paid dividends winger Camilo Mbule and fullback Antonio Hossi terrorised the Seychelles the entire first half.
The second stanza provided very little in terms of entertainment before the introduction of Angola's dynamic duo of Miguel and Vanilson Zeu off the bench halfway through the half.
The match that will decide the winner of Group A between Botswana and Angola is now perfectly poised for Sunday while Seychelles and Comoros will contend in a dead rubber as they exit the tournament.
IOL Sport