Zimbabwe holds SA in Harare
- nationalpilot
- Jul 21, 2015
- 1 min read
Zimbabwe and South Africa played to a 1-1 draw in their CAF U-23 Championships third round, first leg qualifier at Rufaro Stadium in Harare on Sunday afternoon.
Owen Da Gama's South Africa will consider the result a positive one on the road to next year's Olympic Games, but they enjoyed the better scoring opportunities throughout and will feel that they should have claimed an outright win.
South Africa dominated the first half, but missed glaring chances through Siphelele Ntshangase and Siphiwe Khambule, with Zimbabwe's goalkeeper able to make a couple of key saves to keep his side level through the first 45 minutes.
South Africa finally broke through in the 66th minute when Keagan Dolly was left unmarked in the box and finished off from a cross to put the visitors ahead.
The young Warriors responded well to going behind and earned a penalty late on, with a South African defender adjudged to have handled the ball in the box. Walter Musona scored the spot kick for 1-1.
South Africa had a chance to win the match in the dying moments when substitute Dumisani Zuma found himself one-on-one with the 'keeper, but he failed to find the back of the net, leaving the game deadlocked at the final whistle.
The return leg will be played in South Africa on the weekend of 31 July-2 August.
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