Zimbabwe stiff test for buoyant Banyana

Banyana Banyana goalkeeper Kaylin Swart (right) says their group stage games at the Cosafa Cup in Port Elizabeth were all about keeping standards high, after three straight wins which saw them score 23 goals so far.

Banyana have now booked a semifinals spot where they will take on Zimbabwe at the Wolfson Stadium this afternoon and the keeper believes the wins have boosted their confidence ahead of the last four.

“We couldn’t have asked for anything better. Yes, the games weren’t the calibre of what we got at the World Cup, but I think it’s been good preparation. We have been playing different systems in different games, a different atmosphere,” said the keeper.

“All the wins we’ve had so far are confident-boosters; I wouldn’t say its great preparation for the semifinals, but it’s baby steps and we will take what we get. It’s all about us and the performance we put out there, we have to show where we come from, we can’t drop our standards. I think that’s the main focus, just to keep our standards, winning when we have to, scoring goals and not taking anything for granted.”

The keeper cautioned that their game against Zimbabwea would be a totally different game from what they encountered in the group phase.

“The Zimbabwe game is going to be different. They are on a different scale to all the other teams we faced in the group stages. But as we get to the knockout stages it’s always tougher, it doesn’t matter if it’s the World Cup or the Cosafa Cup. We had to prepare for it like we prepare for any other game,” she added.

Banyana are the defending Cosafa Cup champions and are looking at clinching their sixth regional trophy at this year’s competition.