Portia and Lena Bolster Banyana

With three days to go before the second and final leg of the home-and-away 2008 Olympic Qualifier against Zimbabwe, scheduled for the highly partisan Rufaro Stadium in Mbare, Harare against Zimbabwe, the South African national women’s team has the luxury of international talent back in the squad.

The home leg was settled 2-1 in Banyana Banyana’s favour, but Fran Hilton-Smith said the team had been working hard for an improved performance. “Well, we had a lot of chances, and we didn’t finish them,” she told gsport ahead of the team’s departure for Harare on Thursday morning.

And in addition to playing away from home, the team face setbacks in national coach Augustine Makalakalane having to observe the match from the stands, and the unavailable of Rose Jijane through injury.

Makalakalane will be serving the second of a five-match side-line ban, after he allegedly insulted match officials in Banyana’s contentious qualifier against Equatorial Guinea in Pretoria during March this year.

On the positive side, talented goal-poacher Portia Modise has returned home from Europe, where is she is currently signed by professional Danish outfit Fortuna Football Club, after having missed the home leg against Zimbabwe.

And, to bolster a defence which will miss long-standing right back Rose Jijane, who picked up a serious knee injury in the 18th minute against Zimbabwe in Pretoria, Lena Mosebo has returned from the USA, where she is considered a hot prospect.

Hilton-Smith said preparations for Saturday’s decider were as ideal as possible. “We’ve been studying the video of the match, sorting out our team according to that, so we’ve done a lot of background preparation on the team’s starting line-up.”

The team will be put through their paces at 4pm this afternoon in a final tester, “We’re playing the national Under-20 women’s team full of players at the High Performance Centre, who are very strong,” continued Hilton-Smith.

What does the management team consider Banyana Banyana’s chances to  of success? “If we can improve on our scoring, we have a good chance. Of course, it’s very difficult to play away from home, and Zimbabwe’s no exception.

“We’ve played there before, and it’s very volatile, the crowds you know, so we’re expecting a tough time. (But) the girls are prepared for that, we played in Africa, so we know what to expect,” concluded Hilton-Smith.