Staff Reporter.
Banyana Banyana lost 5-1 to the Netherlands in an international friendly at the Kyocera Stadium on Tuesday night.
Banyana were without AC Milan midfielder and captain Refiloe Jane due to injury, but other overseas-based players were in the line-up, including Atletico Madrid forward Thembi Kgatlana who led the line while the Dutch’s attack was spearheaded by Arsenal superstar Vivianne Miedema
Jackie Groenen scored the opener for the Netherlands just after the 10th-minute mark, but Banyana hit back through the captain of the night Kgatlana in the 25th minute.
That was the only goal for Banyana, who were underdogs against the 2017 Women’s European (Euro) champions.
The home side restored their lead five minutes later via a Lineth Beerensteyn goal. Vivienne Miedema added her name to the score sheet to make it 3-1 in the 38th minute.
South Africa had a golden opportunity to score their second goal of the match, but Noko Matlou failed to convert a penalty early in the second half.
Damaris Egurrola netted two goals late in the game to 5-1 and round off a brilliant performance by the Netherlands.
While Banyana were ultimately outclassed, the positive that they can take from the game is that they were competitive against one of the best teams in the world.