The Sasol-sponsored Banyana Banyana continued their dominance over neighbours Lesotho, defeating them 1-0 in the first of two international friendly matches between the two nations.
The clash took place at the UJ Soccer Stadium in Soweto on Saturday (22 February 2025).
Nobahle Mdelwa, who recently signed for UJ Ladies, and was playing at her home ground, scored the solitary of the match from the penalty spot in the 50th minute.
Head coach Desiree Ellis opted for a youthful squad, made up mainly of U17 and U20 Women National team players to gauge what the future holds for the African Champions.
“I think many people at first thought we were crazy when we selected the squad, but if you don’t know the plan and you don’t know the process, I mean there’s a there’s a start and there’s an end. And you don’t want to get caught with our pants down because we’ve had a lot of injuries over the last two years and got caught at times when we had to play a lot of players out of position, and they did really well,” explained Ellis.
“So, we want to make sure that they understand what the international level is all about and that they need to step up. I heard many of the players talking about WAFCON, nothing stops them from trying to get into that squad because if the ambitions are that high then they’ve also got to push and they’ve got to show us. There were a few players that raised their hands today, but you need to consistently raise your hands. It’s a process and I am happy with it, but it comes with playing and it comes with playing at this level and it comes with playing at this intensity because for many of them they’ve never played under this intensity so hopefully it will be a bit better by Tuesday.”
Ellis is also using the two games against the neighbours to assist Bantwana, the South African U17 Women’s National team to prepare thoroughly for the upcoming second round clash against Nigeria in a two-legged FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup qualifier in March.
There are six U17 players in the current Banyana Banyana squad.
“The U17s had a camp but we were adamant we wanted the six players, and we had a conversation about her (coach Ntombifuthi Khumalo – U17 Women Coach) getting more players in camp and us being able to take the more experienced players from her squad and helping them be better when they go back. I went to their training to watch and also to give hope to the kids there. We always have conversations about how our training went, give feedback on her players, and I have had that with Simphiwe Dludlu in the past when we were taking Karabo (Dhlamini) and Sibulele (Holweni) to the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup in France. So, the conversations never stop and it’s a start for many of the players, and hopefully some of them will step up and grab this opportunity,” said Ellis.
The Capetonian is expected to make some changes to give more players a run, and also to rest some of those with slight injuries to preserve them for the 2025 Hollywoodbets Super League season that kicks off in the first week of March.
“Many of them haven’t played 90 minutes at this level because youth level is completely different. We will first look at who’s still available because a couple of players came off with niggles, and we will see how we can refresh the squad and possibly give some others an opportunity. We saw Yolanda walking gingerly and we also know that the season is just around the corner, so we need to make sure that we also take care of the players because this is just two international friendlies to showcase,” said Ellis.
A decent crowd came out at the Soweto venue to watch the young Banyana Banyana bridage, something that excited Ellis.
“It’s nice to see such a big crowd come out in their numbers especially for this new group because it’s very encouraging for them to have the crowd behind you, so thank you to the crowd and I hope they come out on Tuesday again,” added the four-time CAF Woman Coach of the Year.
The victory was the fourth on the trot for South Africa over Mehalalitoe. In June 2018 Ellis’ charges registered back-to-back wins (1-0, 6-0) and the last time they met was in 2020 with Banyana Banyana emerging triumphant 3-0.
The latest success was Banyana Banyana’s first in five matches after falling to Denmark, England and twice against Jamaica in 2024.
South Africa and Lesotho will meet again on Tuesday at the same venue for their second friendly match.
By Matlhomola Morake
