Banyana Banyana gear up for formidable Nigeria at Wafcon after downing Senegal on penalties

Daily Maverick

5 days ago

After defeating a stubborn Senegalese side in a penalty shootout, Banyana Banyana will rekindle their rivalry with Nigeria in the semifinals of the Women's Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco on Tuesday, 22 July.
Banyana Banyana beat Senegal 4-1 on penalties in their Women's Africa Cup of Nations (Wafcon) quarterfinal clash. Despite helping the South Africans reach the semifinals, the overall performance the team put on to obtain that result is one Desiree Ellis and her charges will be keen to quickly forget.
Following a sluggish and lacklustre 120 minutes of soccer against a Senegal team which was intent on causing the biggest upset of the tournament by ousting the defending African champions, the contest ended 0-0 at Oudja's Honneur Stadium. Despite enjoying a large chunk of ball possession, the South Africans did not create any real chances in those two hours of football.
Heroine Dlamini
Then up stepped Banyana Banyana goalkeeper Andile 'Sticks' Dlamini. The Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies goalminder shut out two Senegalese spot kicks, while centre back Bambanani Mbane confidently struck the winning penalty for South Africa as they navigated to the semifinals.
'I said the game was not going to be easy, I said it was going to be a difficult game because of the group they were in and how they got out. We didn't expect anything less,' said Ellis.
'The first 15 minutes we showed a bit of nerves, trying to get into the game, but once we got into the game we nullified the threat, their two tall strikers. We dealt very well with their long ball, but sometimes we gave the ball away too cheaply… Senegal has improved from the last time we played them, the coach has done a fantastic job,' the Banyana Banyana coach added.
'We have been practising penalties, and we knew who our kickers were going to be and that's why we made the changes we made. We always knew that Andile could save one or two – she had done it before.
This was our first penalty shootout victory at Wafcon; we lost it in 2006 and in 2018 in the final. I don't have enough words to describe this team – the resilience, the courage, the never-say-die attitude, the willingness to fight for each other. No matter what they threw at us we were able to withstand that,' Ellis stated.
Super Falcons date
In the semifinals awaits a Nigerian team which flexed its muscles in a 5-0 drubbing of a strong Zambia side in their own quarterfinal outing on Friday. It's clear that the South Africans will have to be much sharper than they were against Senegal.
On the other hand, Banyana Banyana's clashes against record Wafcon winners Nigeria (with 11 titles) are always epic. The South Africans will need no motivation against their sworn rivals. Especially after the Super Falcons denied Banyana Banyana Olympic Games qualification in 2024.
After successfully navigating the earlier rounds of Olympic qualifiers, Banyana Banyana and Nigeria were pitted against each other for the fourth and final round of qualifiers. In that close contest the Super Falcons soared to a slender 1-0 aggregate win over two legs.
The result broke South Africa's hearts and condemned Banyana Banyana to a second successive Olympic qualification failure – despite their prominence on the African continent.
This result may now be buried deep in Banyana Banyana's subconscious, but it is likely to resurface as fuel when Ellis's team aims for the Super Falcons on Tuesday. Traditionally, the Nigerians have enjoyed the most success in this fierce rivalry, hence their 11 continental titles to Banyana's one.
Momentum shift
However, over the past five years the tide has shifted slightly in favour of the South Africans. The Olympic qualification result was an anomaly based on recent results and Banyana Banyana will be hoping to prove it as such by doing what they did on the way to winning the 2022 Wafcon – beating Nigeria.
Having been based in the city of Oudja since the tournament started, Banyana Banyana will now relocate to Casablanca. This is where the Super Falcons have been based for the tournament, something which Ellis feels will be a minor disadvantage for her team.
'As the technical team, our heads are already on planning for Nigeria. We played 120 minutes and we have a day less than Nigeria to prepare. We'll also have to travel, which takes a lot out of you,' Ellis stated.
Banyana Banyana's mammoth match against Nigeria kicks off at 6pm. The other semifinal, between host nation Morocco and the Black Queens of Ghana, takes place three hours later. DM