Banyana beat Eswatini, bow out of Cosafa women's champs

A hat-trick by striker Thubelihle Shamase gave Banyana Banyana a 3-0 victory over eSwatini in their Cosafa Cup Group A match played at the Dobsonville Stadium on Wednesday.

The result, however, has no impact for a makeshift Banyana team and eSwatini as they both started the match already out of the running for the semifinals after not starting well in the tournament.

Banyana suffered a 4-3 loss against Malawi in their first match on Wednesday before beating Madagascar 3-1 in their second on Saturday.

"We wanted more goals but I like the effort by my teammates. I enjoyed the tournament and it's a good experience for us young players," player-of-the-match Shamase said after the match.

Banyana coach Desiree Ellis said losing the first game against semifinalists Malawi was their setback but was happy to discover a few Banyana players like Shamase, who have potential to progress to the senior South African team.