Menzi Magubane
Banyana Banyana beat their neighbours Botswana 1-0 on Sunday to maintain their 100% record in the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations and progress to the quarter-finals of the cup.
Nthaboseng Majiya broke the deadlock after 80 minutes of a largely cagey affair.
For the majority of the match, neither keeper was tested; Banyana were not in any hurry to score with the knowledge that they had already secured their place in the last-eight of the competition.
For Desiree Ellis’s side, this game was about maintaining their unbeaten record at the top of Group C. Botswana didn’t play with urgency either, having also booked their place in the next round before a ball was kicked.
After beating the reigning champions Nigeria in the first match, Banyana were firm favourites to top the group, and their name was already being mentioned as the outright favourites to lift the cup. They doubled their win tally with a 3-1 victory over Burundi on Thursday.
But the Super Falcons went some way to redeeming themselves as they recorded their first win in their next game, beating Botswana 2-0 before humiliating Burundi 4-0 to finish runners up in the group.
Their win meant they are still in the running to defend the title that they won by beating Banyana 4-3 on penalties in the 2018 final. The possibility of a repeat fixture this year remains alive and well.
But before then Banyana will have to overcome Tunisia in the quarter-final. Victory in that game will secure their place in the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup that will be co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand in July.
Banyana’s win on Sunday means that they follow Morocco as the only two teams to win all their matches in group stages.
The quarter-finalists are: South Africa, Nigeria, Botswana, Tunisia, Zambia, Senegal, Morocco and Cameroon.
The quarter-finals get underway on Wednesday.
