Johannesburg — The pressure that lay on Linda Motlhalo’s shoulders during Banyana Banyana’s clash against Zambia in the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations semi-final was enough to strike her down.
But the 24-year-old stood firm, took the pressure in her stride, and calmly slotted the stoppage time penalty to send South Africa to the Wafcon final.
It was a moment of sheer relief for Banyana who hardly rose to the occasion as the Copper Queens were happy to sit back and absorb the pressure.
Perhaps, the biggest highlights of the match was the intervention of the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system that made two bold decisions later in the tie.
Initially, referee Lidya Tafesse Abebe awarded the South Africans a penalty after an infringement on Motlhalo closer to the penalty area.
But after reviewing the incident on the VAR monitor, she overturned her decision and awarded Banyana a set-piece, just outside the box, instead.
The controversial VAR was subsequently recalled into action for Banyana’s lone strike and match winner.
With the incident long-gone, Abebe paused the match and communicated with her VAR colleagues for a possibly foul incident on Jermaine Seoposenwe closer to the box.
VAR was unable to give her a clear response on whether that was a penalty or not , forcing her to jog to the monitor – yet again!
To Banyana’s delight and the Copper Queen’s surprise, a penalty was awarded.
Motlhalo stepped up to take the responsibility and smashed her penalty into the bottom corner.
Motlhalo has been one of the stand-out players in Wafcon with his deft touches that mesmerised crowds, inspiring Banyana to a 100% winning performance so far.
Although she didn’t control traffic in the engine room as she’s used to, Banyana’s defensive line yet again stood firm in their reaguard, cushioning goalkeeper Andile Dlamini.
Kudos should also go to Noxolo Cesane who, despite the stick she got for missing clear-cut chances against Tunisia in the quarter-final, managed to stick to her game.
Instead of focusing on scoring, Cesane took on her markers, moving within pockets of spaces with trickery and skill as she also tried to create chances for her teammates.
Ellis has admitted that her troops were far from their best on the night. And that should be a starting point of reference ahead of their clash against the hosts, Morocco, in the final.
The Atlas Lionesses beat defending champions Nigeria, 5-4 in the lottery of penalty shootouts after the game 1-1 after regulation and extra time in the semi-final.
It was a spirited performance from the hosts who were backed by more than 45 000 spectators athe Moulay Hassan as they continued the search for their first African crown.
Albeit the crowd, with intimidating flares and lazers, set to be on the side of Morocco in the final on Saturday, the South Africans will remain the favourites.
But the six-time Wafcon losing finalists cannot only ride on the favourite’s tag. Instead, they need to be clinical in front of goal to win their first African crown.
The absence of Thembi Kgatlana in the final calls for a new heroine to be born in Rabat and deliver Banyana to the Promised Land.
The 2023 Fifa World Cup spot may be guaranteed but a cool cheque of R17.7 Million (R8.5 Million prize money + R9.2 Million winning bonuses) and the African crown still needs to be captured.