“Obviously the pressure is on us and on them, because both teams want a spot in the World Cup, so it’s going to be flat-out stuff tonight,” a confident Fran Hilton-Smith told gsport today, as Banyana Banyana prepares for their final hurdle in efforts to reach the FIFA 2007 Women’s World Cup.
“The team that pushes the hardest and takes the opportunities will hopefully get that far,” said Hilton-Smith as the South African senior women’s team prepares for the Ghanaian Black Queens in this evening’s African Women’s Championship semi-final.
“The conditions are pretty good at the Oghara Stadium, the grass is a bit shorter than at stadiums we’ve been playing at, which means that the game will be much faster, the ball will move faster.
“We’ve done a lot to work on our physique, and we’re hoping that will help us tonight. This should make for a very speedy game this evening, because both teams are quite fast.
Hilton-Smith has dismissed any reliance on Banyana’s winning results against Ghana in the 2000 and 2004 African Women’s Championships, saying: “They’re a very new team, a much faster team than before, not as physical than they were before, but much more mobile. We’re expecting a new type of game this evening.”
“We’ve watched them twice (in group stage action),” Hilton-Smith said of Ghana, “So we’ve got a pretty good idea of their setup and how they work, their formations and their strong players, and we’re planning around that.”
“(Leading Ghanaian scorer) Anita Amankwa is a lethal striker, we’ve made plans to contain her, and the players have been studying her.
“Most of the players are back in shape again, the more serious injuries to Janine van Wyk and Lena Mosebo are now fine, they’re back on track. They can start tonight, so that’s good news for us.
“We’ll start again with Brigitte Mohlale in goals,” said Hilton-Smith commenting on the goalkeeper issue, as Banyana Banyana prepares for this evening’s match without the services of regular keeper Itumeleng Chimeloane, who is still not 100% fit after injuring her shoulder in a group stage match.
Other concerns posed to the team are the five yellow cards dished out to Portia Modise and Nompumelelo Nyandeni (against Nigeria), and Janine van Wyk, Lena Mosebo and Disebo Mametha (against Equatorial Guinea).
“We’ve got five players under caution, but tonight we’re not worried (about that), we’ve just got to go out and play,” responded a bullish Hilton-Smith.
That aside, Banyana Banyana will be grateful for a change of scenery, with an easier trip to this evening’s match.
“We’re still in same hotel, but we’re travelling to new ground in Oghara, which is much nearer, and much more suitable, except that we play at 7pm local time (6pm SA time), with the first half in poor light at sunset, and the second half under lights. I’m not sure what the reasoning behind this is, and if power goes out …
“We’re expecting a fun-filled evening,” Hilton-Smith said wryly.
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