Never in her wildest dreams did Noko Matlou ever think she would be invited to do the honours of kicking off a men’s in La Liga.
And that is exactly what happened!
Her exploits at the 2022 TotalEnergies Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) won her praise from all and sundry.
She was applauded for her solid performances at the tournament where she played five of the six games (Nigeria, Burundi, Tunisia, Zambia and Morocco) missing out only on the second fixture of the competition against Botswana.
The 2008 African Woman Footballer of the Year was instrumental in helping South Africa concede just three goals on their way to winning all six matches in Morocco as they lifted their maiden Continental trophy.
After being celebrated at home, Matlou returned to Spain to start life in the second division following SD Eibar’s relegation last season.
As part of honouring the African champion in their midst, the club selected the Limpopo-born defender to kick off their men’s league game against Racing which the home team won 2-1.
“It was a great honour to be celebrated that way after our WAFCON win, never in my wildest dreams did I ever think that something like that would happen to me. Following my return to Spain after Morocco, the people of Eibar and our supporters wanted to see me and appreciate me – and so they invited me to do the kick-off of match that involved our men’s team,” said an elated Matlou from her base in Spain.
“It was exciting and it made me feel appreciated and loved by the team. It has never been done here, I only saw that from other teams for players that won the FIFA World Cup U20 for the Spanish National Team. So it really felt great.”
Earlier in the day, Matlou had helped her side to a 2-0 victory in a league clash against Rayo Vallecano with goals from Valentina Morales and Kenni.
This was their second win of the season in three matches – they are still unbated after a draw in their opening league fixture as they attempt to regain promotion to top flight football.
“So far so good. We have played three games – won two and drew the other (0-0, 1-0, 2-0). This league is not too bad, but also not as easy as in the first division where you have acres of space to operate – here they don’t give you a chance to think on the ball, but then again it’s very interesting when you play under pressure,” added Matlou.
On Sunday afternoon ((2 October 2022) they face Dux Logrono – where she will come face to face with compatriot and former UWC midfielder Leandra Smeda, who joined them in July this year.
“I’m very excited and looking forward to this game because during pre-season we got a practice match against them and it ended in a draw – so this is another opportunity to face her again, with the stakes higher this time,” said the Noko.
On the Banyana Banyana front, she was unable to be part of the squad that played against Brazil in two friendly matches, with South Africa losing by a 9-0 aggregate (3-0 and 6-0) at Orlando Stadium and Moses Mabhida Stadium respectively.
“I believe we did better even though I think we were a bit afraid to make mistakes, but ended up making them anyway and Brazil capitalised on that. For me the main lesson from the two games is that we have to minimise mistakes because playing against a calibre of these opponents you will be punished when you commit such errors,” said Matlou.
“We must also make use of every opportunity we get to score – whether it is a quarter or half a chance, we must go for it. The good thing also coming out of these fixtures is that playing against big teams like these we learn and we grow, and we become wise and better.”
By Matlhomola Morake
