Staff Reporter.
Banyana Banyana qualified for next year’s Women’s Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco after defeating Burkina Faso 2-0 at Lucas Moripe Stadium on Monday.
Banyana and Burkina Faso played to a 1-1 draw in the first leg, played in the Ivory Coast – a neutral venue.
African champions, will be looking to defend their Wafcon title having won the tournament two years ago for the first time in their history.
Burkina Faso, who are ranked 135th in the Fifa world rankings, gave Banyana a tough game and made the Desiree Ellis’ charges work hard for their victory.
The match went into half time with the score at 0-0 and a lot to play for in the second half.
Lebohang Ramalepe’s clever ball inside the box landed on the outstretched right hand of Rasmata Sawadogo leaving Rwandan referee Salima Mukansanga with no choice but to point to the spot.
Linda Motlhalo showed nerves of steel as she stepped up under pressure to put the ball past Ouedraogo, who dived the right way but was beaten by the speed of the ball in the 56th minute.
Due to the heat, the quality of the match deteriorated but Burkina Faso nearly sneaked it with a late goal through a close-range shot by Yasso Konate that was denied by Swart.
Substitute Nicole Michaels sealed the victory with the second of the match after outrunning Burkina Faso defence before slotting the ball nicely into the net.
Next year’s Wafcon finals will be hosted in Morocco for the second successive edition.
Meanwhile Janine Van Wyk officially closed her career on the field as the highest capped [185 caps] African player, male or female.
She surpasses former Egyptian international Ahmed Hassan, who held the record for 11 years with 184 appearances. The veteran defender was substituted early in the 8th minute of the showdown.
Compiled by Lehlohonolo Lehana.