By Michael Madyira
Banyana Banyana blew away a slender lead to allow Sweden to launch a comeback and snatch a 2-1 victory in a 2023 Fifa Women’s World Cup Group G tie on Sunday.
Under wet conditions at Wellington Stadium, Hildah Magaia continued with her purple patch in national team colours when she fired South Africa ahead three minutes into the second half.
But the Blue and Yellow responded five minutes after the hour mark through Fridolina Rolfo before Amanda Ilestedt’s winner right at the death.
In what was the 10th game of this World Cup edition, the huge gulf between Sweden, ranked the third-best team in the world, and 54th placed Banyana, never showed.
Donning an unfamiliar all-black strip with a gold trim, South Africa became the first African side to score at Australia/New Zealand and looked on course to cause a major upset but it ended up in heartbreak for them.
Six Banyana players in Desiree Ellis’ lineup for the Sweden clash started against Morocco in last year’s Africa Women’s Cup of Nations.
Surprisingly, the likes of goalkeeper Andile Dlamini, veteran defender Noko Matlou and Fikile Magama were on the bench but their absence was never felt.
Just 12 minutes into the match, Refiloe Jane tried an ambitious long-range effort that went just over the bar.
Goalkeeper Kaylin Swart then almost committed a howler when she could not catch Ingrid Angeldahl’s shot as Rolfo lurked to pounce on the spill.
Interestingly, Swart made her Banyana debut against Sweden in 2018 and managed to keep a clean sheet in a friendly match which ended 0-0 in Cape Town.
Encouraging for Ellis was that her girls went pound-for-pound with their much more fancied opponents.
But towards the halftime break, Banyana survived Emma Blackstenius and Ilestedt’s successive headed efforts off corner kicks.
Just after the restart, Thembi Kgatlana outpaced Ilestedt to shoot and force goalkeeper Zecira Musovic to parry the ball into Magaia’s path for the Banyana star to bury it.
But things started collapsing for South Africa after the ball awkwardly bounced off Rolfo’s right leg, straight into the net.
More misery was to come right at the end, when Ilestedt headed in from a corner kick to hurt Banyana.
Pictured above: Banyana Banyana vs Sweden
Image source: Fifa
