The tenacious pixie we call Lebohang Ramalepe twirled through the late night air. She pranced past the pool at Banyana Banyana’s hotel, and made for the bar, whooping as she went.
The bar?!
South Africa are famously disciplined during tournaments. What the hell was going on?
Rama placed her order, collected it, and twinkle-toed back to her teammates. In her hand she held nothing more fun than a can of 7Up.
It was somewhere past midnight, and all was well. In the preceding hour or so, Banyana had won a Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (Wafcon) penalty shootout for the first time.
Big, brawny Senegal had bullied them for 122 minutes in the quarterfinal in Oujda, where it was 1-1 at fulltime. There’s no muscling in a shootout.
If she’s calm, we let her be calm. If she’s crazy, we let her be crazy. All goalkeepers are crazy, but we know her quality.
— Refiloe Jane on Dlamini
Karabo Dlamini, Tiisetso Makhubela, Gabriela Salgado and Bambanani Mbane made no mistake. But the real hero was Andile Dlamini, who kept out two — diving once to her right, then to her left — to put Banyana in a semifinal against Nigeria.
Refiloe Jane offered a pithy view of the totemic goalkeeper: “If she’s calm, we let her be calm. If she’s crazy, we let her be crazy. All goalkeepers are crazy, but we know her quality.”
Dlamini is Banyana’s soul. Ramalepe is their heart. The brain stands on the sidelines. Desiree Ellis was the only African woman in charge of a team at this Wafcon.
Hold these memories dear. Because we all know what happened next.
Nigeria are a fine team powered by guts, and not short of skill and speed. But for most of the first 84 minutes in Casablanca on Tuesday, their opponents refused to be awed.
Penalties by Rasheedat Ajibade and Linda Motlhalo left the match deadlocked at 1-1 from the 60th, but the South Africans should have been ahead.
Of their nine attempts at goal, six were wide of the mark. The Nigerians also took aim nine times, and hit the target with seven of them. Banyana created chances, but they couldn’t put them away.
As much as it was a positive that Banyana’s six outfield strikes in their first five games were made by six different players — that they were a many-headed threat — that meant they weren’t able to bank on a single steady source of goals. Going into yesterday’s final, Ghizlane Chebbak had netted four times from open play for Morocco and Chinwendu Ihezou thrice for Nigeria.
Banyana overcame Ghana 2-0, but the 1-1 stalemate with Tanzania raised alarms — which were silenced by the 4-0 hammering of Mali. When they hung tough against Senegal it seemed they had found a way through their deficiencies. Sadly, no.
That said, they were in the fight at 1-1 until the fateful 84th minute of their semi. Then Salgado crashed to earth in South Africa’s box and screamed, her shattered left shin at a grotesque angle.
With Salgado’s teammates still upset, the tamest of speculative long-range shots by Michelle Alozie snuck into Dlamini’s goal in the fourth minute of added time to decide the issue.
Salgado watched from her hospital bed — she was due to be discharged on Saturday — as Banyana lost the third place play-off to Ghana in Casablanca on Friday. Locked at 1-1 after the 90, the Ghanians prevailed 4-3 on penalties.
On Friday, Jermaine Seoposenwe addressed the press ahead of her 110th and last international, to announce her retirement before the tournament.
Might she change her mind? What with another Wafcon looming in March and a World Cup two years hence?
She spoke of “factors that have made my decision for me”, and said: “If those things change then, yes, I will reconsider”.
What those factors were she didn’t say, but they are likely to involve the South African Football Association, and Ellis continuing in a post she has held since 2016.
Retirements are anticipated. Rama is 33 … “I’m going to continue playing, focusing on my club [Mamelodi Sundowns], and we must win our World Cup qualifier against the DRC next year,” she said in Tuesday’s aftermath.
Was she ready for that? “We’re ready for that.” There is no “I” in Lebohang. Nor in Ramalepe.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.