Basetsana booted out of WC qualifiers

Basetsana failed to make their mark while playing at home in the second leg as they found it hard to unlock a firm Uganda defence, playing to a 0-0 draw at the Dobsonville Stadium on Friday.

READ MORE: Covid-hit Basetsana geared up for WC qualifier against Uganda

The visitors had come into the country with an advantage from the first leg having won 1-0 in a game played at St Mary’s Stadium in Kitende two weeks ago thanks to the solo goal by Hadija Nandago.

After starting the qualifiers with a bye in the first round and knocking out Mozambique with a 4-2 victory in the second round, there were high hopes in the Basetsana squad that they would eventually go on to qualify for the global showpiece in Costa Rica next year.

During both legs, Basetsana coach Jabulile Baloyi had some problems in her squad, with the first game seeing the coach having to play the match with some of her key players missing due to writing final examinations of the year.

For the return leg, a number of players in Baloyi’s team tested positive for the Covid-19, meaning the head coach had players who got called up to the national team for the very first time.

In the first half, Basetsana suffered a major blow when goalkeeper Karabo Mohale had to be taken off after sustaining an injury, only to be replaced by Manana Myeki.

However, the substitution didn’t really destabilise the team, as they remained compact at the back.

There seemed to be more problems in the team as captain and influential player Lonathemba Mhlongo also had to leave the field early after getting injured at the hour mark.

But the South Africans went on to try and get a goal in order to keep their chances of going into the next phase of the tournament alive, but they just couldn’t find the back of the net, leaving Uganda to qualify for the next round. `