Banyana to humiliate the hosts in the Cosafa final
BULAWAYO: Banyana Banyana will need to switch on throughout the entire 90 minutes if they are going to come out victorious against hosts, Zimbabwe, in today’s Cosafa Women’s Championship final at Barbourfields Stadium, Bulawayo. This is the view of Banyana captain, Refiloe Jane, who stated that her side could not afford to lose to the host in a final for the second time in a row, following a 1-0 defeat they suffered in Harare back in 2011.
Jane, who was given the captain’s armband in her first participation in this tournament, revealed that lifting the championship trophy at the end of fulltime, would definitely count as one of her memorable experiences with the national side. The central midfielder also said the championship title would also serve as a confidence booster to the newcomers Banyana interim coaches, Desiree Ellis, had blooded in for this southern regional tournament.
“Just looking back now, none of the matches we featured in leading up to the final were easy.” Jane said. “And we anticipated that because we knew that everybody came to this championship with the desire of none other than winning it for their respective countries. I’m just pleased that we were able to fight our way. However, the job is not done as yet.
“We’ll now have to make sure that we win it.”
“Leading the team has been an interesting experience for me, though it is not an easy job for any player to have,” Jane added. “But lucky enough though, I’m surrounded by senior players who have been just wonderful in terms of pushing the rest of the guys to fight for those desired results. The new players that we have in the squad as well, have also been wonderful. They’ve been working really hard both in training and at our games, to see the team where it is now in the tournament.”
Meanwhile Desiree Ellis stated that her side was well aware of Zimbabwe’ strengths and weaknesses leading up to this matchup, and that they know how to deal with Zimbabwe’s potent striker, Rutendo Makore, to deny her scoring chances in this matchup.
“I spoke to the girls right after we reached the final and said to them that they were guaranteed a medal for just being in the final two of this competition,” Ellis said. “I then said it was up to them which medal they wanted hanging around their necks at the end of fulltime. All of them told me that they were gunning for gold in this tie and I believe that they can do it.
“We’ve also prepared well with regards to how to keep Zimbabwe quiet in our defensive third, while we give them all sorts of problems up in the final third. This is going to be an interesting match, without a doubt,”