Five-star Holweni is Banyana’s hero

Sibulele Holweni produced a five-star performance as Banyana Banyana cruised through their final Cosafa Women’s Championship Group A game with an emphatic 7-0 win over Comoros at the Wolfson Stadium in Port Elizabeth on Monday.    

Player of the match and Kwazakhele-born Holweni banged home all of five goals on her own as SA  confirmed their spot in Thursday’s semifinals against Malawi (3.30pm).

The other semifinal will be contested between Botswana and Zambia (12pm). Both matches will be played at the Wolfson Stadium.

While Holweni helped herself to rich pickings, Hildah Magaia and Mapula Kgode added the other two goals to complete the rout.

Banyana finished on top of group A after winning all their group fixture in the competition.

The 5-0 win against Eswatini on Friday already saw Banyana through to the semifinals but the victory on Monday cemented their position on the log as the group leaders.

In 2019, Banyana, on their way to a third tournament victory in a row, scored a record-breaking 17 goals against Comoros.

The visitors were well-beaten in last year’s competition, conceding a huge 35 goals in their three matches.

SA scored 10 less this time around as the islanders showed a bit more character.

Comoros earned their first ever point last week at the Cosafa Women’s Championship when they came from a goal down to draw 1-1 against Angola.

But Banyana were a bridge too far.

The home team kept the ball on the ground playing into the wind in the first half and were rewarded with  three goals.

Coach Desiree Ellis’s troops made their intentions known from the start.

Banyana fired threatening shots and it took only eight minutes for them to find the back of the net.

Holweni’s long range strike from outside the box beat Comoros goalkeeper Abdourahmane Hairyat.

The 19-year-old, who has captained the U17 SA squad, scored her second goal in the 31st minute after Magaia’s attempt was blocked by the Comoros goalkeeper.

Soon after, Anllaouia Ali tried to pull one back for her side but her attempt went over the crossbar.

Magaia scored the third goal for the SA national senior women’s side after 41 minutes.

The second half saw Banyana play with the wind behind their backs.

Holweni beat the Comoros defence to score her third goal of the game three minutes after the restart.

Soon after Mapula Kgoale also added her name to the scoresheet after scoring a long range free kick.

Holweni scored two more late goals for Banyana to complete a fine outing.

Meanwhile, Nelson Mandela Bay’s Nodefa and Mofa were the biggest winners in the Cosafa Legacy U15 girl’s tournament at the Jabavu Stadium in Uitenhage on Sunday.

Both Local Football Associations (LFA) won all their group stages matches on Saturday and Sunday and now will meet in the final which will be the curtain-raiser to the Cosafa Women’s U17 Championship decider at the Wolfson Stadium on Saturday.

The tournament, which saw 12 LFA teams battling it out, was aimed at giving aspiring players in the Bay an opportunity to showcase their skills.

It also provided a chance for Safa scouts to identify the best of the talent in the Bay for future U17 sides.

Mofa thrashed Peefa 5-2 in their opening fixture of the elimination round to meet Wafa in the semifinals.

A 5-0 against Wafa saw Mofa book their spot in the finals of the competition.

Nodefa made their way to their final after a 3-1 win in the elimination round against Penfa.

They then beat Nebfa 1-0 in the semifinals.

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