Thembi basks in glory
STRIKER: SCORING THE WINNING GOAL WAS THE MOST AMAZING FEELING EVER
“It was the most amazing feeling ever” – that’s how Banyana Banyana striker Thembi Kgatlana described her emotions after her spectacular goal in the 1-0 win over Nigeria in South Africa’s opening game of the 2018 Africa Women’s Cup of Nations on Sunday.
Kgatlana started on the bench, coming on in the second half as a replacement for Busisiwe Ndemeni. The striker connected with a very long pass from Jermaine Seoposenwe, hitting a thunderous shot into the corner of the net with six minutes left to full-time to hand Banyana their first victory against the Super Falcons since 2012.
“It was the most amazing feeling ever, I knew if I let it bounce the second time I might not get the chance, and it’s either I hit it the first time and see what happens or I don’t hit it … The adrenaline was rushing because every time I get inside the box I take time to make a decision. But the moment that ball bounced it was now or never,” said Kgatlana, who walked away with the Woman-ofthe-Match accolade.
“Jermaine told me that I was going to score and doing just that with a pass that came from her means a lot to me and before she played that ball we had eye contact and we saw the defender had given me a lot of space to run through on goal.”
Kgatlana added that the victory against the AWC holders is a big morale-boost for the team, looking at how dominant the Nigerians have been over the years, with 10 AWC titles in the bag.
“Whether it’s qualifying for the World Cup or not, they just make sure they kill whoever comes in front of them.
“It was a hard time for us but we knew we had to fight as a team. The coach always says if the team plays together the individual brilliance shows, and that’s what happened when I scored the winning goal for the team.”
Tomorrow night Kgatlana and her team-mates next face Equatorial Guinea who lost 5-0 to Zambia in the other Group B match this weekend.