THE breeze is over for Banyana Banyana as they now head into a Zambian windstorm.
Seeking passage to the Cosafa Women’s Championship final, South Africa will have to overcome by far the strongest team at the tournament.
The showdown is set for Barbourfield Stadium today (2pm) – the same venue for the other semifinal between hosts Zimbabwe and tourney guests Kenya.
The Sasol-sponsored Banyana cruised through the group phase, thumping both Lesotho and Namibia before they shared the spoils with Botswana.
But with the sideshows over, coach Desiree Ellis’ girls will have to rise head and shoulders above the other pretenders to seize the Cosafa throne.
There is great determination from Banyana to bring home the trophy they last won nearly a decade ago.
Yet they will have to dig deep and on the pitch show more than the camaraderie they displayed in camp this week if they hope to upset Shepolopolo.
“Zambia are good in attack but defence is one of our strong points,” said Ellis.
“Our midfield is also very strong and it’s going to be a quite good match-up. The mental strength will also be very crucial.
“There might be only one chance and we hope to be ones taking that chance.
“We haven’t played our best football yet in the tournament. But the back-to-back matches have toughened us mentally.”
The 3-0 and 3-1 wins over Lesotho and Namibia respectively were not flattery but underlined Banyana’s poor finishing.
Chantelle Essau and Thembi Kgatlana are Banyana’s top scorers with three goals each, but they both could do more and spare Ellis some heart palpitations on the bench.
“It’s good that Chantelle is scoring, and Thembi as well. We hope the two of them can combine well against Zambia.
“Obviously we will have a plan and if we execute it properly we will get the result tomorrow. Semifinals are big pressure games. We need to be on top of our game and create opportunities as early as possible to settle in.
“The semis won’t be easy. The two teams can easily cancel each other out, we will have to have a plan B.
Added the coach: “Sometimes you win ugly but it’s still a win. We’ll take it any way we can.”
