Banyana Banyana held to a goalless draw by Angola

Banyana Banyana were held to goalless draw a determined Angola outfit in their second Group A game in the Cosafa Women’s Cup at the Nelson Mandela University Stadium on Friday. 

Banyana, are now on four points, while Angola are on two. 

The fixture between these two teams was always going to be hard for either side, boasting of experienced players in their respective teams. 

Another major factor that made the match competitive, was that Angola was looking for their first win of the tournament after playing to a 2-2 draw with Mozambique in their first game. And Banyana were eager to extend their point tally to six in the group having secured a 2-1 victory over Malawi. 

From the first moments of the match, both sides were eager to get on the scoresheet first, but chances weren’t coming easy. 

But it was Banyana who probably had a number of chances, which they could have put into the back of the net to make life east for themselves, but they did not. 

The teams went into break deadlocked on 0-0, but the clash promised some sparks in the second stanza. 

Going into the second half, with Angola having looked to be stronger and putting Banyana under pressure in the first half – that forced coach Desiree Ellis to bring on the experienced Janine van Wyk, who came on for Karabo Makhurubetshi.  

And early moments into the resumption saw Banyana come close to scoring through Kgadiete, with just three minutes played into the restart, but her shot was blocked in the 48^th minute. 

Ellis made more changes, bringing in Gabriela Salgado in the hour mark to try to put more firepower upfront. 

The hosts grew stronger in the game with chances still being created, but Angola were solid at the back making sure that the score remains 0-0 to the end. 

Looking at the overall standings after second group games, Banyana remain on top of the group with four points, while Malawi occupy second with three points after beating Mozambique 3-2 in the early game. Angola are on third place with two points and Mozambique occupy last place with one point.