Basetsana battles hard for a resilient draw against Ghana
The South African u20 national team, known as Basetsana, played to a 2-2 draw against Ghana in the first leg of an u20 FIFA Women’s World Cup qualifier at the Accra Sports Stadium on Sunday.
In the initial round of World Cup qualifiers, the Black Princesses beat Tunisia 4-0 on aggregate, while Basetsana defeated Eswatini 9-0 over two legs to secure a place in the next round against the West Africans.
The showdown between Ghana and South Africa was highly anticipated, and an open contest was forecast and expected to produce goals.
The players delivered, despite the home team entering the game without their leading scorer, Mercy Attobrah, who had netted twice against Tunisia in Sfax. She also added a third in the qualifier at the Accra Sports Stadium.
She was out, though, with an Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injury. Yet, her absence didn’t appear to hamper Ghana. They were more threatening than South Africa in the first half and broke the deadlock in the 33rd minute through Agnes Yeboah.
South Africa went into the halftime break trailing 0-1, but just three minutes into the second stanza, they levelled through Khwezi Khoza, who provided the finish after a flowing team move.
Stung, the hosts gathered themselves and went in search of an equaliser. They were rewarded with a goal from a corner, with Linda Owusu converting the opportunity only four minutes after South Africa’s goal.
The home side kept pressing, but Casey Gordon, the South African goalkeeper, successfully thwarted the Ghanaians, pulling off some exceptional saves while commanding her area with authority.
Ghana’s lead lasted only eight minutes. After an hour, Basetsana were level again after Zoe October fired a powerful shot from outside the box into the net to make it 2-2.
The home team fought back, applying pressure and challenging South Africa. They thought they had snatched a late winner, but Jessica Appiah had a goal disallowed because she was deemed offside.
On Saturday, 14 February, the teams meet again at one of South Africa’s premier football venues, the Mbombela Stadium, in Mpumalanga, which was constructed for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
