South Africa got off to a flying start following a 2-1 win over nine-time record African champions Nigeria in their first Group C encounter at the ongoing 2022 TotalEnergies Women’s Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco on Monday, 4 July.
Desiree Ellis’ outfit scored twice in two minutes thanks to Jermaine Seoposenwe and Hildah Magaia’s goals in the 60th and 62nd minutes, respectively.
In the post-match conference, head coach Ellis said: “This is a very big win for us as a team. We needed to get this result because it sets the tone for the rest of the tournament. We had a meeting before we started training to talk about our goals and ambitions. We want to qualify for the World Cup and win the title here.
“We know what happened in 2018, but we have matured over the past four years and there are changes in our team. Jermaine played about four positions today. That is the versatility we have now as a team,” she added.
“This victory is for everyone back home and for all the coaches. This is for everyone connected to women’s football back home.”
This is South Africa’s second win over Nigeria in the past 10 months, having stunned the defending champions 4-2 in the Aisha Buhari Invitational Cup in Lagos.
South Africa’s next game will be against Burundi on Thursday, while Nigeria take on Botswana on Thursday, 7 July.
6-Goal Thriller
Botswana registered the biggest win of the tournament when they saw off fellow debutants Burundi 4-2 at the Moulay Hassan Stadium.
The Mares opened their scoring a minute to the halftime mark when Keitumetse Dithebe found the back of the net with a beautiful curler into the top corner.
A minute into the second half, Lesego Radiakanyo doubled Botswana’s lead to 2-0.
Burundi reacted quickly, pushing to get onto the scoring sheet themselves and their efforts paid off when Sandrine Niyonkuru picked up a loose ball to send a fine shot past Botswana’s Maitumelo Sedilame Bosija.
At 2-1, both sides opened up and explored their strengths, but it was Botswana’s Refilwe Tholakele who scored a quick brace in the 55th and 59th minutes to hand the Mares a 4-1 lead.
Niyonkuru went on to score a brace as she found the back of the net in the 81st minute with a fine finish into the roof of the goal for Burundi.
“This is a historic moment for us as a country to be playing at the WAFCON and even though we have lost the game, it gave us an insight into how we should approach our upcoming games against Nigeria and South Africa, who are more physical than Botswana,” said coach Niyonkuru.
His counterpart on the other end, Nkutlwisang, said: “Big up to the team. When we saw South Africa’s win over Nigeria, it motivated us. We saw that now we must win this game. We are so proud of the way we played today.
“We are competing against the best teams and we are already looking forward to our next game and we want to continue improving.”
Botswana, who are now Group C table leaders, face Nigeria in their next game on Thursday, while Burundi will be up against South Africa.
Results: 2022 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations on Monday, 4 July
Nigeria 1-2 South Africa
Burundi 2-4 Botswana
Fixtures: 2022 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations on Tuesday, 5 July
19h00: Burkina Faso vs Senegal
22h00: Uganda vs Morocco
Photo 1 Caption: South Africa got off to a flying start following a 2-1 win over nine-time record African champions Nigeria in their first Group C encounter at the ongoing 2022 TotalEnergies Women’s Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco on Monday, 4 July. Photo: CAF Women (Twitter)
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