Can Banyana show the boys how it’s done?

Johannesburg: Botswana has always been something of a pick-me-up for Banyana Banyana striker Sanah Mollo, who finds her mojo whenever she plays against the Zebras.

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Botswana has always been something of a pick-me-up for Banyana Banyana striker Sanah Mollo, who finds her mojo whenever she plays against the Zebras.

Her brace in the 2-0 victory on Saturday in the first leg of the 2016 Africa Women’s Cup of Nations (AWCN) qualifier was part of a long list of good performances by Mollo against Botswana.

It was because of her solitary goal that Banyana came back with a victory in their previous visit to Botswana, which laid the foundation for the 5-0 rout against the Zebras at Dobsonville Stadium last year in the second leg of the All-Africa Games qualifiers.

Mollo won the penalty that started that big win, which however pales in comparison to the 10-0 drubbing Banyana handed Botswana at the Royal Bafokeng Sports Palace in a friendly in 2014. Mollo was again on the score sheet that day.

But that dominance over their neighbours and a few other teams from Southern Africa hasn’t spread to the rest of the continent, where Banyana are still searching for their maiden AWCN title. They have finished as runners up four times, including in 2012.

Their last participation at the tournament in2014 was even more depressing, when they finished outside the top three for the first time in over a decade. That shortfall proved costly because the top three teams qualified for the World Cup that Banyana had to watch on TV.

As much as this year’s participation at the AWCN is about searching for a first African title, it will also be about making up for what happened in Namibia two years ago.

“I am confident that this qualification of the Olympics and playing in it will help us in the continent because we have the quality to be African champions. It would be an honour and an achievement that nobody can take away from me, if we could be African champions, because we would be the first Banyana team to do that. That would be something that would be in the history books forever,” Mollo said.

To move closer to achieving that, Mollo and company have to wrap up the second leg against Botswana tonight at 7pm at Makhulong Stadium in Johannesburg.

Banyana will find out who they will face at the Olympics on Thursday. Banyana would have played only four matches since qualifying for Rio when the draw is conducted but they have spent a lot of time in camp preparing for the global showpiece. - Cape Times

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