Banyana Banyana are through to the third round of the 2028 LA Olympic Games qualifiers after a commanding 7-0 aggregate win over Madagascar in Bloemfontein 0n Tuesday.
South Africa defeated the Islanders 3-0 in the second leg played at the Free State Stadium, with second half substitute Ronnel Donnelly grabbing a brace to take her tally to five goals in two games following her hattrick in the first leg. Gabriela Moodaly-Salgado had opened the scoring on the night just at the start of the second half after a goalless first stanza.
With this game played in front of a decent and vocal crowd, Banyana Banyana made some changes to the starting line-up with fresh legs introduced, including Thembi Kgatlana who captained the team. South Africa scored seven goals in two matches without conceding.
“We made six changes, we are happy with the results and on to the next round, but still of work to be done. We created chances but didn’t take them because we were not patient enough to get the goals. And when the first one went in more were bound to follow and that’s what happened. We could have scored more as the opportunities were there,” said Banyana Banyana Head Coach Dr Desiree Ellis.
The 2022 African Champions will now face Angola in the third round in February/March next year after the latter brushed aside Namibia 2-0 in their second leg clash. The first match ended in a goalless stalemate. While one eye was on the Olympic Games qualifiers, the South Africans were also using the match to prepare for next month’s FIFA World Cup Play-offs which will be held in Rabat, Morocco.
“Winning gives you that confidence, keeping a clean sheet has the same effect as well, so these two wins were real morale boosters for us going into some very important games to give us that momentum. We know that we scored goals and we haven’t conceded, so it was a good exercise for us ahead of the FIFA World Cup Play-offs which are around the corner,” added Dr Ellis.
Banyana Banyana have been drawn against Chinese Taipei, Ecuador and Uzbekistan in play-offs.
