/ 1 May 1999

ANGOLA DRAMATICLY BEAT MALAWI

ANGOLA struck twice within five minutes during the closing stages to grab a 2-1 victory over Malawi in a Castle Cup Southern Africa championship match in Blantyre on Sunday. Antonio Mendonca, a 16-year-old debutant, equalised after 76 minutes with a close-range shot and Malawi captain Patrick Mabedi turned a Paulo Tomas cross into his own net. Another own goal had put Malawi ahead in the 60th minute when a Meck Mwase cross struck Moises Almeida on the shoulder and left goalkeeper Mario Joao stranded. The exciting finish before a 40000 crowd at Chichiri Stadium compensated for some dismal first-half fare with the teams lacking urgency and creativity in attack. Angolan defender Juliao Kutonda won the official man-of-the-match award and received a gift from the South African brewery that sponsors the annual championship. Defending champions Zambia, Zimbabwe, South Africa and Lesotho have already qualified for the quarter-finals and Swaziland host Mozambique on May 9 in the final first-round match. First-round losers get a second chance to reach the last eight when they playoff during May for two places.