Following Ronwen Williams’ penalty heroics against Cape Verde on Saturday night, coach Pitso Mosimane has joined SA football fanatics to give the Bafana Bafana captain his flowers.
Williams helped Bafana to beat Cape Verde 2-1 on penalties to qualify for the AFCON tournament semi-finals for the first time since 2000 following a 0-0 draw after extra-time.
The Bafana goalie, Williams, made history as he became the first shot-stopper to save four penalties in a single CAF AFCON tournament.
To add to that, the Mamelodi Sundowns goalminder matched Andre Arendse’s record for the most number of clean sheets [4] in a single AFCON competition. Williams came into this game having kept three consecutive clean for the first time since February 1998.
In fact, Bafana have never stopped their opposition from scoring in four consecutive AFCON matches. To put a cherry on top, Williams’ stellar displays on the night also earned him the Man of the Match accolade.
PITSO MOSIMANE ON RONWEN WILLIAMS’ HEROICS
“What a performance, Captain Ronwen Ronwen Williams,” wrote the Abha Club mentor on X [formerly known as Twitter].
“You carried the whole country on your shoulders. Well done to your teammates, coach Hugo [Broos], and the entire technical team.”
South Africa will face Nigeria in the AFCON semi-finals clash on Wednesday, 07 February 2024. The kick-off is at 19:00 [SA time].
Hugo Broos’ troops booked the AFCON semi-final ticket for the first time since 2000 after reaching the quarter-finals in three of their last four appearances at the AFCON tournament.
This will be the fourth time Bafana have reached the semis of the AFCON competition.
If South Africa manages to beat the only African highest-ranked nation left in the competition, they will go all the way to the finals, where they will face either the hosts, Ivory Coast or DR Congo on Sunday, 11 February 2024.
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