The Extra Strong Team of the Week
Due to the international break this edition’s team of the week is made up of Banyana Banyana’s starting XI, who beat Zimbabwe 3-0 in Harare.
|||Due to the international break this edition’s team of the week is made up of Banyana Banyana’s starting XI, who beat Zimbabwe 3-0 in Harare on Thursday. The women’s senior national team leave the country today for Cameroon looking to return next month as African champions.
Interim coach Desiree Ellis used the match against Zimbabwe to experiment with the line-up in the absence of the overseas based pair of goalkeeper Roxanne Barker and striker Jermaine Seoposenwe. In the absence of Barker, Andile Dlamini was in goal. The Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies’ goalie has spent the better part of her Banyana career on the bench, whether it’s behind Thokozile Mndaweni or Barker. She goes into this Africa Women Cup of Nations (AWC) confident after leading her club to the Sasol League national championships title last year. Ellis’ experiment included using the attack-minded Leandra Smeda at rightback and moving Silindile Ngubane from playmaker to striker. The coach argues that having more versatile players will put them in a good position in the tournament. There are a number of new faces in the squad, including Bambanani Mbane who is likely to make way for Noko Matlou during the AWC in defence.
Extra Strong Team of the Week:
Goalkeeper: Amanda Dlamini (Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies)
Left Back: Nonthando Vilakazi (Palace Super Falcons)
Centre Back: Bambanani Mbani (Bloemfontein Celtic)
Centre Back: Janine Van Wyk (JVW FC)
Right Back: Leandra Smeda (UWC Ladies)
Left Wing: Refiloe Jane (Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies)
Central Midfield: Linda Mothlalo (JVW FC)
Central Midfield: Nompumelelo Nyandeni (JVW FC)
Right Wing: Thembi Kgatlana (UWC Ladies)
Striker: Shiwe Nogwanya (Bloemfontein Celtic)
Striker: Silindile Ngubane (Durban Ladies
@extrastrongsa
The Star