By Akinwale Kasali
After four previous attempts, the Bayana of Bayana of South Africa are the Continental champions of Africa.
The Coach Ellis Desiree of South Africa girls, against all odds, broke another record and the jinx that had marred it from lifting the coveted trophy for over two decades.
South Africa recorded a 2-1 victory over their host, Atlas Lioness of Morocco, at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium on Saturday.
Three goals were scored in the second half, with Hildah Magaia netting a brace and Rosella Ayane putting fear into the visitors late in the match with her consolation strike.
But the South African ladies earned a hard-fought victory against a determined Moroccan outfit, who were eager to raise the trophy in front of 52 000-strong home crowd.
Banyana Bayana had been denied in four previous Women’s WAFCON finals – 2000, 2008, 2012 and 2018 – and at the 2022 edition, tasted glory for the first time in the history of the national senior women’s team.
It was also the first time since Bafana Bafana’s heroics in 1996 that a senior national football team was victorious in the Nations’ Cup.
Banyana Bayana return to South Africa on Tuesday, 26 July, with gold medals and an unbeaten streak more than a month since arriving in Rabat, Morocco, on Wednesday, 22 June, more than a week before the tournament kick-started.
Coach Desiree Ellis’s charges defeated tournament favourites Nigeria in their opening match before seeing off Burundi and Botswana to end top of Group C.
Slender 1-0 victories against Tunisia and Zambia in the quarter-finals and semi-finals, respectively, set up the final against Morocco, who knocked out Nigeria to ensure that a first-time champion will be crowned.
It was a nervy start to the final. Both Morocco and Banyana could not muster clean enough passes as the roars from the sold-out crowd looked to have gotten to the players on the field.
However, Banyana threatened first when Jermaine Seoposenwe showed tenacity in bursting forward, fending off a Moroccan defender in the hosts’ penalty area before knocking the ball towards Magaia, who put a strike towards the goal, but her effort was too gentle as a red shirt cleared the danger.
Magaia would get another chance courtesy of the help from Seoposenwe, who again provided the perfect pass to her teammate.
This time, however, Magaia attempted to chip the ball over the Moroccan goalkeeper Khadija Er-Rmichi but it ricocheted off the shoulder, and the Banyana forward attempted to backheel it into the back of the net on her second attempt, only for Nesryne El Chad to boot the ball out the danger area.
On the cusp of half-time, Morocco nearly broke the deadlock as Fatima Tagnaout darted beyond the Banyana defence and played in the perfect low cross in the 18th area with Ayane arriving late, but her left-footed strike went narrowly wide.
For all of her missed goal-scoring chances throughout the tournament, Magaia netted the opening goal 18 minutes into the second period that Seoposenwe superbly assisted. Nine minutes later, Magaia doubled Banyana’s lead, dinking the goalkeeper as she dove to stop the strike.
However, in almost typical South African fashion, it would become even more of a nervy ending as Morocco’s Ayana netted in the 80th minute with nine minutes of stoppage time added on. Somehow, through grit and character, they held on to clinch their first African title.
