Banyana Banyana defender Bambanani Mbane says she was pleased that her 100th appearance in national colours ended in a win and a clean sheet.
Mbane reached the milestone in Banyana’s international friendly against Algeria at the Princess Magogo Stadium on Tuesday, joining an elite group of less than 15 women to have played for the senior women’s team that long.
Nthabiseng Majiya scored the only goal in the first of two friendlies against the North African side, with the second one scheduled for the King Zwelithini Stadium on Friday, ending in a 2-0 victory, with Majiya scoring again and Shakira O’Malley scoring the other.
The matches are part of the preparations for the upcoming 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) tournament to be hosted by Morocco in July.
‘Juice’. who led the side out because of the occasion, appreciated support from her teammates.
“What I like about this 100th cap is that we won plus a clean sheet so I’m very happy,” Mbane told Safa.com.
“My teammates showed me support and I appreciate them a lot. May they not stop with me and they even show support to those coming after me. I’ll see how far it takes me but if I’m given an opportunity to play, I’m going to continue playing.”
As far as the game is concerned, the Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies defender bemoaned Banyana’s lack of finishing saying she felt they should have scored more than one and that’s what they should work on going forward.
“The game was not bad, but I believe that we can do better as a team.” added Mbane.
“We were supposed to score more goals but goals will come in the next game. I think what needs to happen in the next match is that when we get opportunities we use them because we had a lot of opportunities but we always score one goal.
“What’s missing is getting more [goals].”
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