High fives for hero Holweni
DOMINANT Banyana Banyana wrapped up their Group A assignments at the Cosafa Women’s Championship with a thumping
7-0 victory over Comoros at the Wolfson Stadium in Port Elizabeth yesterday.
The South African national women’s team, who are seeking a seventh championship title, joined Botswana, Zambia and Malawi in the semi-finals starting on Thursday. Banyana will be up against Malawi in the second semi-final.
Just a few seconds into the match, Comoros served notice that there will not be a repeat of the
17-0 drubbing they suffered against Banyana in last year’s edition.
Comoros striker Anllaouia Ali intercepted a seemingly innocuous back pass in the Banyana defence but was thwarted by goalkeeper Kaylin Swart in a one-on-one showdown.
The let-off stung Banyana into quick response and they waged several attacks down the left channel out wide in the next four minutes. The effort was worth at least two goals but Comoros’ defence remained intact thanks mainly to Banyana’s poor marksmanship.
Midfielder Sibulele Holweni scored Banyana’s opening goal in the seventh minute with a speculative long-range effort from, an acute angle into the strong wind. The ball sailed over the outstretched hands of Comoros goalkeeper Abdourahmane Hairyat.
Holweni scored goal No 2 on the half-hour mark after Comoros failed to clear the ball in a goalmouth melee.
At this stage, Banyana retained the ability to dominate in key moments of the game and Hildah Magaia rounded off an excellent team effort on the stroke of halftime for a 3-0 lead.
During the first half, Comoros did not do themselves any favours by trying to stage break-outs from deep options with a short interpassing game instead of clearing their defensive lines with first-time efforts.
Three minutes after the break, Comoros were under the whip again and conceded two goals in as many minutes. First Holweni scored and in the process recorded Banyana’s first hat-trick in this year’s tournament.
Komvula Kgoale made it 5-0 with a well-struck free-kick from outside the Comoros penalty area.
In the final 20 minutes, Banyana fashioned a raft of scoring chances but only scored twice through goalmouth predator Holweni in the final minutes of the match.