Banyana pull trigger in Cup tussle
Banyana Banyana will now play Uganda in the semifinals of the Cosafa Women’s Championships after a 6-0 win against Malawi in the last match of the group stages on Monday, at Wolfson Stadium.
Ahead of the tournament Banyana coach Desiree Ellis said their group was not an easy one and they would not take any team lightly.
The national side sailed through the group stages after beating Madagascar 2-1 in their opening match and that was followed by a 1-0 victory against Botswana.
They finished their group matches on a high with a win against Malawi to top group A with nine points from three games, to progress to the next round of the tournament.
Banyana are the defending champs after winning the tournament last year and also won in 2002, 2006 and in 2008.
Ellis, 50, said the pressure was on the team to make sure that they defend the trophy, more especially that they are playing at home.
Meanwhile, a 2-1 victory against Zimbabwe saw Uganda book themselves a place in the semifinals.
Ahead of the game Khanya Xesi said their fixture against Malawi was very important and they will not take it lightly.
She said they would do everything in their power to get the full points and also score many goals, which is what happened on Monday.
The star of the game was Linda Motlhalo who scored a hat-trick against Malawi.
Banyana Banyana were fired up from the word go and took the game to the visitors. Malawi had no strike at goal throughout the entire match.
The first goal came as early as 11 minutes after the referee blew the whistle. Linda Motlhalo converted a goal from the edge of the box after the ball was set up by Thembi Kgatlana.
A minute later Kgaelebane Mohlakoana also tried her luck at goal but her strike went over the crossbar.
Banyana kept on knocking on Malawi’s door in an attempt to get a second goal.
A mistake by the Malawi’s goalkeeper Martha Banda saw Xesi sneak in the second goal for Banyana.
The national side kept on pressing to extend their lead. Kgatlana had beaten the goalkeeper and had the ball posts to herself but her shot went wide.
First half score was 2-0.
Banyana came out oozing confidence in the second half. Mohlakoana scored the third for Banyana just minutes after the referee blew the whistle for the second half.
Minutes later Xesi scored the fourth goal for Banyana and it was her third goal of the tournament. Banyana kept Malawi’s defence on their toes throughout the second half. Motlhalo scored two more goals just before stoppage time.
Other results
Eswatini 1 Namibia 3, Zimbabwe 1 Uganda 2