01 Sep 2019

The senior women football team’s dream of proceeding to the second leg of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic qualifiers is still on track after holding archrivals, Banyana Banyana of South Africa, to a goalless on August 30.

The two played their first leg qualifying game at the National Stadium while the return game is billed for Orlando Stadium in Johannesburg, South Africa, on Tuesday at 7 pm.

Known for their dominance over the local girls, Banyana Banyana would certainly attest that they were stunned by the performance of the local side.

From the onset, the local girls suffocated their opponents, denying them room to play, especially in the opening minutes of the game. And Lesego Radiakanyo’s header in the 16th minute nearly gave the Botswana girls an early lead.

South African keeper, Andile Dlamini worked overtime to keep Botswana at bay and she created a foul resulting in a fruitless corner. The spirited Banyana also tried to launch attacks, but could not penetrate the wall created by captain, Bonang Otlhagile and Masego Montsho’.

After half-time, Banyana Banyana continued to surge forward looking for an away goal, but all their efforts were thwarted by the ever alert Sedilame Bosija, who displayed good goalkeeping instincts and ably assisted by the solid defence.

Botswana’s coach, Gaolethoo Nkutwisang said it was a tough game, but that her players were defensive and did not take the game to the South Africans. She said their game plan was to attack South Africa and score in the opening minutes of the game.

“We have seen them now, what is left is for us to analyse the game and prepare for the next leg on Tuesday,” she said.

Banyana coach, Desiree Ellis said the pitch did not suit the way they wanted to play, but that they had to adapt.

She said the big factor was that her side did not concede, adding that they knew it was going to be a tough game.

She said contrary to some believe that Botswana were easy opponents, it was very difficult to play against Botswana.

“We drew in 2017, we beat them 1-nil in 2018 and today was a draw, so we knew that the game would be tight,” she said.

She said as their preparation for the second leg, they would look at the footage and see what they could do better, adding that she was of the view that her team did not utilise their scoring opportunities.

“I am not happy with their performance, there is a lot that we need to work on, but the most important thing is that we did not concede,” she said.    ENDS