Banyana Banyana kicked of their Women's Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) with an impressive win over the Super Falcons of Nigeria in Rabat, Morocco, on Monday evening.
Banyana Banyana kicked off their Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) with an impressive win over the Super Falcons of Nigeria in Rabat, Morocco, on Monday evening. The much-anticipated match lived up to expectation albeit with a slow start in the first half that saw both teams draw a blank.
The Group C match was dubbed ‘the final before the final’ and it lived up to expectations, showing how tight things are between the two nations in terms of quality. In the end, it was Banyana who managed to light up the game with two goals in a space of three minutes. The first was tucked in by Jermaine Seoposenwe in the 60th minute, followed up by a Hildah Magaia striker in the 63rd minute
🇿🇦 Banyana Banyana deliver a statement at the #TotalEnergiesWAFCON2022 with a 2-1 win over defending champions Nigeria.
— SuperSport 🏆 (@SuperSportTV) July 4, 2022
The build-up to this goal is stunning. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/ZJNeXmhDsB
Banyana Banyana were comfortable for the rest of the second half with their two-goal lead and showed great game management. Woman of the match, Linda Motlhalo kept things simple and tidy with Refiloe Jane, who assisted the second goal with a perfectly timed through ball.
Nigeria turned up the pressure late in the second half and managed to pull a goal back with a Rasheedat Ajibade strike in additional time but it was too late.
“We knew we needed a good start, to give us the confidence, to give us the momentum. They (Banyana) executed the plan to the T,” Banyana Banyana coach, Desiree Ellis expressed after the game.
“In the first half, we could have played more through balls, but we executed much better in the second half.
“This is a massive three points, and it sets the tone for the rest of the tournament for us.”
Banyana had only managed to beat Nigeria twice in previous meetings at WAFCON, with the last victory coming at the 2018 edition, also in the group stages.
The team will next face Burundi on Thursday.
