Banyana Banyana face Ghana in a third round Olympic Qualifier at Caledonian Stadium in Pretoria later today, needing a win to get their first qualifying campaign alive.
Ghana are on a high after beating away from home, but Banyana Banyana coach Augustine Makalakalane is remaining positive.
“Its going to be a hard game, tough game because Ghana is very excited having beaten Nigeria 1-nil away. Now they are coming to us. We have to compete and make sure we get maximum points because both countries, Nigeria and Ghana, have three points and we don’t have a single point.
But Makalakalane says he is very happy with the team’s preparations and he is looking forward to the encounter.
“We have been in camp since Sunday. Monday we played a friendly game against under-15 School of Excellence boy’s team. We played again on Wednesday against our SAFA academy at the High Performance Centre in Pretoria.
“The results were not so important. We were looking for possession, physical ability, physical sickness, checking and monitoring their injuries from the various players.”
The last time Banyana Banyana played Ghana, was at the recent All Africa Games when the South Africans won 2-nil, but Makalakalane is not getting carried away.
“Tomorrow is going to be different because the team that is coming to us is going straight to the World Cup from South Africa, so it should be a stronger team.
“It’s a team that we played against in Nigeria where they qualified for the World Cup that they’re going to play now and there they beat us 1-nil.
“We are expecting a tough game on Saturday compared to the one we played in Algeria where we beat them 2-nil. We have a chance to compete, and a chance to bring a positive result.”
Captain Portia Modise is back in town, having arrived on Wednesday and the coach is confident she will be ready for the game.
“She has done well. She has trained hard. I hope she adapts for the game because she would have been three days in the country, and normally your jet lag will show its signs.
“But today (Friday) she was strong in training and she should be ready for the game. We have all the senior players; we have the best that the country can offer to me. I have them available, so tomorrow should be a good game to watch.”
But, Banyana Banyana will be without first choice goalkeeper, Itumeleng Chimeloane, who has cited job commitments as the reason for her unavailability.
“We have a replacement for her, which is Phindile Nkosi, who is playing for Super Falcons. We still have Bridget Molale, who is one of the longest serving members of the squad. Her experience should come in handy to make it easy for us to get a positive result against Ghana.”
Janine van Wyk is still recovering and will probably be out for another two weeks. Belinda Nkosi is also on the injury list. She has been running but is still not match fit. But Makalakalane says he has capable replacements for players in key positions.
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