Olympic qualifiers: 5 talking points as Banyana progress to the next round

Banyana Banyana beat DR Congo 2-0 to progress to the next round of the 2024 CAF Women’s Olympic qualifiers at Orlando Stadium on Monday afternoon.

Thembi Kgatlana‘s brace was enough to help Banyana secure the much-needed victory at home.

The first leg played in Congo last week ended with a 1-1 draw. Therefore, South Africa advanced to the next round of the qualifiers with a 3-1 scoreline on aggregate.

Below are the five talking points from this crunch Olympic qualifiers’ second leg between South Africa and DR Congo.

ANDILE DLAMINI RETURNS BETWEEN THE STICKS

This time around, coach Desiree Ellis decided to start with Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies shot-stopper Andile Dlamini between the sticks.

Dlamini was on the bench in the first leg of the qualifiers, as Kaylin Swart who has been the talk of the town for hawlers started with the game.

WENDY SHONGWE PLAYING OUT OF POSITION

Wendy Shongwe, who normally plays a striker was playing as a left-back.

With that being said, Shongwe was targeted by the Congolese side, as they were aware that she wasn’t playing in her usual position.

GOAL RULE TAKEN AWAY

With the away goal rule no longer in use in the Olympic qualifiers Banyana had to work very hard to secure a win. Luckily, Kgatlana’s brace came in handy this afternoon for Banyana.

JERMAINE SEOPOSENWE AND SAMKELISIWE SELANA BACK IN THE SQUAD

Having missed the first leg encounter, Jermaine Seoposenwe and Samkelisiwe Selana returned to the Banyana matchday squad.

Seoposenwe started with the game as Ellis’ side needed someone of her calibre to bang some goals to proceed to the next round.

WASTEFUL IN FRONT OF GOAL

Banyana were not clinical in front of goal as they created so many chances until Kgatlana managed to score a brace 18 minutes into the game.

South Africa will face either Tanzania or Botswana in the next round of the Olympic qualifiers.

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