First half burst sees reigning champions South Africa past Ghana to kick off WAFCON defense

Defending champions South Africa got their 2024 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) off to a bright start with a convincing 2-0 win over Group C opponents Ghana.

In a highly anticipated match, Banyana Banyana dominated play from the blast of the whistle, taking the game to the Black Queens who struggled to string passes together.

The incessant pressure from the defending African champions paid off in the 28th minute when Linda Motlhalo transfixed Ghana goalkeeper, Cynthia Konlan from the penalty spot for the opening goal.

Desiree Ellis’ charges kept their heads up despite taking the early first half lead. Their composed ball possession hypnotized the Black Queens who gave up another goal five minutes after conceding the first.

Experienced Mexican-based forward Jermaine Seoposenwe was set up by Lebogang Ramalepe in Ghana’s penalty area and Seoposenwe made no mistake in planting the ball just on the side of Black Queens keeper Cynthia Konlan in 33 minutes to make the score 2-0. The score line separated both African powerhouses moving into the halftime break at the Stade de Honneur.

The phase of the second half changed when the Black Queens came in with a high level performance, creating decent scoring chances but continuing to fire blanks. With five minutes of added time elapsing, South Africa ran away with all three points.

Ghana will now turn attention to their second game against Mali on July 11 while South Africa battle Tanzania in their next fixture from Group C.