A late Linda Motlhalo penalty was enough to secure Banyana Banyana their sixth Women’s Africa Cup of Nations final place.
The South Africa senior women’s national team narrowly edged Zambia 1-0 in a tightly contested all-Southern Africa semi-final, thanks to a late penalty.
With the match seemingly headed for extra time, Banyana were awarded a penalty after Jermaine Seoposenwe was impeded.
Motlhalo made no mistake as she put the ball beyond the reach of the goalkeeper deep in stoppage time.
For large spells of the tie, Zambia dominated play, getting the better share of scoring opportunities.
However, they could not get the much-needed and will feel hard done by the match official after the controversial penalty.
Banyana will face Morocco, who beat Nigeria 5-4 on penalties in the other semi-final played on Monday night.
Monday’s result meant Desiree Ellis’ charges were yet to lose at the tournament after five matches.
Banyana’s senior player Janine Van Wyk believes the team has got what it takes to change the fortunes this time around.
“We’re extremely happy going into the finals; we have a lot to improve on, we need to reflect – look at ourselves head of the big final. Otherwise, we have the right players and the momentum to continue with our winning streak. Hopefully we bring it home,” said Janine
Ellis leads the team to the WAFCON finals for the second time after missing out on the title at the hands of Nigeria back in 2018 in Ghana.
Van Wyk is aware the title clash against Morocco won’t be an easy one. “We’re a unified team that’s ready to take on this tough challenge. It won’t be an easy game. However, Morocco must be up for a true 90 minutes battle,” she added
The final is set for Saturday 23 July.
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