Morocco dump Banyana out of Wafcon, delay their World Cup dream

In Rabat

Banyana Banyana’s uncharacteristically unconvincing run at this year’s Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (Wafcon) in Morocco came to a head when they were eliminated by the hosts at Moulay El Hassan Stadium on Saturday evening.

Morocco won 2-1 to reach the semifinals, also securing their berth at next year’s World Cup in Brazil.

Now, Banyana, who won just one of their three group stages games with a draw and a defeat en route to the quarterfinals, will play the loser of Sunday’s quarterfinal between Malawi and Ghana on Thursday for one of CAF’s two spots at the intercontinental playoffs to see if they can sneak into next year’s global spectacle.

Fuelled by their passionate supporters, who made the atmosphere rather hostile for Banyana by whistling them whenever on possession, Morocco managed to dictate the tempo of the game.

From the word go, the hosts managed to string together a few nice passes just outside the Banyana box, with Sakina Ouzraoui and skipper Ghizlane Chebbak in the thick of things. Morocco’s early dominance forced Banyana to add more numbers behind the ball, leaving Thembi Kgatlana isolated upfront.

The only time Banyana looked threatening in the first stanza was when the likes of Bambanani Mbane and Karabo Dhlamini sprayed long balls to locate Kgatlana. The Morrocan rearguard was alert enough to close down Kgatlana whenever she tried to pounce on those long balls.

Morocco took the lead in the 31st minute when Ouzraoui neatly-executed first-time finish, just outside the box, left Banyana goalkeeper Kaylin Swart shaking his hand in disbelief. Ouzraoui was nicely teed up by Hanane Ait El Haj via a diagonal ball.

While the Moroccan coach Jorge Rodriguez was on his feet for the better part of the game, his Banyana counterpart Desiree Ellis hardly stood up with fitness coach Ridhaa Allie and goalkeeper trainer Lucky Shiburi, strangely the ones barking instructions in the dugout.

A true case of out of the frying pan into the fire — Banyana conceded a penalty a few minutes into the second half when Noxolo Cesane clumsily fouled Chebbak, who’d eventually be forced off. Ait El Haj converted the resultant spot-kick in the 52nd minute.

Banyana looked to be in sixes and sevens after conceding that second goal, albeit Morocco’s momentum was starting to fade away a bit.

Second half substitution Robyn Moodaly gave injected some bit of energy, heping Banyana to play with that sense of urgency a bit, hence it was no surprise when Kgatlana smartly beat offside trap, from a Dhlami through pass, to pull one back in the 67th minute.

The goal had to be thoroughly checked by VAR after the assistant referee on the right side had ruled it offside.