Banyana book final spot after Uganda victory
Cameroon next up for SA in Cosafa Cup
Banyana Banyana cruised into the final of Cosafa Women’s Championship after beating Uganda 2-0 in their semifinal encounter at Wolfson Stadium in Port Elizabeth yesterday.
Goals from Linda Motlhalo and Jermaine Seoposenwe were enough for Banyana to clinch the berth in the final and book themselves a date with Cameroon in Saturday’s showpiece which is likely to be a classic clash between two old rivals.
Cameroon booked their spot against Banyana with a 1-0 victory over Zambia in the other play-off earlier in the day.
There was a large and partisan crowd in KwaZakhele township and the home side did their best to entertain their loyal fans with some attractive display.
Banyana could have won by a larger margin had they buried numerous scoring chances but in the end, two goals got the job done in qualifying for their sixth consecutive final in this competition.
There were a host of early chances for Banyana but they eventually took the lead in the 37th minute when Motlhalo side-footed her shot across the goal-mouth and into the net.
Banyana were the more attacking side in the first half but wasted a host of chances.
The only real opportunity for Uganda came in the 40th minute when Resty Nanziri found herself inside the box and one-on-one with Gelvandale-born, Port Elizabeth, goalkeeper Kaylin Swart, who pulled off a good save.
Thembi Kgatlana did a great job crossing the ball to the relevant people inside the box but players failed to convert their chances into goals.
Banyana continued with their attacking formation in the second half but the high tempo of the game faded a bit in the middle stages.
Again they missed many opportunities on goals.
It was only in the 68th minute that Seoposenwe extended her team’s lead to 2-0, scoring her second goal of the tournament.
Banyana then picked up the tempo again and kept on pressing for the third goal but with no luck.
Meanwhile, a late goal from Mbeleck Genevieve Edith saw Cameroon secure themselves a place in final by beating Zambia 1-0 in the earlier semifinal encounter, also played at Wolfson Stadium.