South Africa – 5 (Marhazi 2’, 60’; Wade 29’, Carollissen 49’, Noble 90’)
Botswana – 1 (Sikwane 38’)

23 September 2019 – The South African U-17 Women’s National Team (Bantwana), qualified for the semi finals of the COSAFA U-17 Women’s Championships in fine style at Francois Xavier Stadium in Port Louis, Mauritius, after beating Botswana 5-1 in their second group B match.

Oyisa Maharzi scored a brace in the 2nd and 60th minutes of the match, while captain and player of the match Jessica Wade scored a beautiful header in the 29th minute from a Nelly Gamede corner kick.

A defensive error and miscommunication from Bantwana gave the Young Zebra an oppounity to come back into the match in the 38th minute when Pearl Sikwane found the ball at her feet and managed to get a goal to make it 2-1 before half time.

Tiyana Carollissen who was tightly marked throughout the match managed to break away in the 49th minute and also got her name on the scorers board, while substitute Christy Noble sealed the deal for South Africa in the 90th minute.

Bantwana confirmed their place in the semi finals with a game in hand, and will now turn their focus to Madagascar, who they will play on Wednesday afternoon at the same venue.

“This was a tough match for both teams as we expected. Botswana is a very well structured team and we knew that they would come at us with their pace and playing the ball behind our defensive, with their long balls.

I am happy that the girls managed to get the win, but more importantly they kept their shape, managed to recover from their errors and fought for possession, which are some of the fundamentals we are trying to teach them;”said Dludlu.

“We are still in our building faze and it is great that the players are growing with each training session and match because we are still going to face some very strong opponents, who can keep the ball, fight for the ball and also have an appetite for goals.

In true tournament mode, we now switch our focus to our last group B match against Madagascar, where we will hopefully give more players a chance to play and have a feel of the pitch;”concluded Dludlu.

South African starting XI: Karabo Mohale (GK); Philisani Hlela; Yolanda Nduli; Shakira O’Malley; Nkateko Nkhuna; Nelly Gamede; Sonika Mzingeli (Mouers 74’); Tiyana Carollissen; Nabeelah Galant (‘Noble 87’); Jessica Wade (C); Oyisa Marhazi (Kortjie 79’)

South African substitutes: Luyanda Sibiya (GK);Olivia Hardie; Shannon Macomo; Jade Leask; Tiffany Kortjie; Inathi Makaya; Jolaine Mouers; Mihle Lumko; Christy Noble