Head coach of the South African U17 Women’s National Team (Bantwana), Simphiwe is proud of her players after they came back with a victory away in Ethiopia, despite failing to progress to the fourth and final round of the FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup.
Bantwana had lost 3-0 in the first leg in Johannesburg and looked they stood no chance in Addis Ababa, but they turned the tables on their hosts.
South Africa bowed out on a 3-1 aggregate loss.
“The first match was a hard lesson, because my players afraid even before the game. It was their first ever international matches at age 15. In the return leg, my little stars knew exactly what to expect and how to deal with the level. It was not perfect but we had a foundation to work from,” explained Dludlu.
With not many giving Bantwana a chance, the former Banyana Banyana defender and captain had belief. Malehlohonolo Mibe scored in the only goal in the match in the 34th minute,
“After our loss at home, we made sure to analyse the game as much as possible. We dissected their weaknesses against our strengths and vice versa. We worked on a set way of playing, and we also strengthened the team with three new players to fix where we lacked,” added Dludlu.
“We neutralized their (Ethiopia) midfield, and their fullbacks could not overload going forward. We played with more confidence because we played a friendly match against UJ Ladies – who play in the Hollywoodbets Super League, before facing Ethiopia. They (UJ Ladies) are more matured and we got to test ourselves since we did not have enough time to prepare again as we had to travel.”
Dludlu is proud of her players.
“I am very proud of what they did. In a short space of time we were able to gel so well and travelled to Ethiopia and returned with a win. That’s just remarkable taking into consideration that this was only their second international match,” concluded the coach.
“We worked hard for a win and God granted us one. We might be out of the Qualifiers but these players showed a lot more character and were brave against Ethiopia away. Two matches – one loss and one win – that is something to be proud of at this level. We shall continue building and hoping for more because LUCK is equal to preparation meeting opportunity,”
By Matlhomola Morake
