Banyana Banyana meet tournament hosts and cup holders the Nigerian Super Falcons in their final Group A clash in Oleh this evening, with both teams having qualified for the fifth African Women’s Championship semi-finals with a maximum 6 points.
Each team has recorded emphatic wins over group competitors Algeria and Equatorial Guinea in a steady march towards their final round-robin game.
Banyana Banyana was the first team to qualify, and topped the group log before four-time champions Nigeria thumped Algeria 6-0 to assume pole position.
The South Africans have suffered seasonal torrential rainfall and unsatisfactory traveling conditions to and from their two matches to date, but having scored four goals against Algeria and two against Equatorial Guinea, without one passing by goalkeeper Itumeleng Chimeloane, the spirits are high.
The Sunday Times website quotes an upbeat Banyana coach Augustine Makalakalane saying that the national women’s squad has peaked right on time, and at R5000 each for a win, not to mention a keen desire to break a losing pattern against Nigeria, the incentive is strong.
31 year-old Jo-Anne Solomon, SA’s leading scorer in the tournament, will be looking to increase her personal tally, her most recent a close-range shot blasted into the roof of the net, after strolling through the Equatorial Guinea defence.
Solomon has already scored three goals this tournament, and fellow striker Veronica Phewa, having put two into the net against Algeria, will be looking to show that her boots are as golden as the veteran.
Solomon, who has appeared in every Championship tournament since its inception in 1998, and is representing Banyana for her 10th year since her debut against Zimbabwe in 1997, is a regular super-sub striker for Banyana.
Even though the result of this evening’s match is of academic significance, it might just be a dress-rehearsal for a final next Friday against hosts Nigeria, if all goes according to plan for Banyana in their semi-final on Tuesday, and Nigeria also go through as expected.
Their semi-final opponents will be decided after the outcome of tomorrow’s match and Group B’s final games on Saturday, with two-times finalists Ghana’s Black Queens the sole Group B team to secure a semis berth, after edging arch-rivals Cameroon’s Indomitable Lionesses 2-1 on Wednesday.
Mali‘s Eagles are best-placed to progress alongside Ghana with four points from two matches, while DR Congo and Cameroon languish at the bottom of the log, each with a single point following a draw against each other.
Visit the CAFOnline website for tournament fixtures, results and statistics.
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