Banyana Banyana lost 2-1 to Morrocco on Saturday in Rabat and exited the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) in the quarter finals.
Morocco made a strong start and should have opened the scoring in the 20th minute when Sanaa Mssoudy put a header narrowly over.
South Africa responded immediately through Thembi Kgatlana, whose first sight of goal a minute later also went over the bar.
In the 31st minute Morocco had the breakthrough when Sakina Ouzraoui produced a sublime first-time finish to register her second goal of the tournament.
The lead stayed intact to the halftime break but just six minutes after the restart Morocco doubled their advantage when Hanane Ait El Haj calmly converted from the penalty spot after Banyana were adjudged to have committed a foul inside the area.
Trailing by two goals, South Africa upped their intensity and were rewarded in the 67th minute when Thembi Kgatlana broke in from the left and unleashed a fierce strike that reduced the deficit.
Banyana continued to push forward in search of an equaliser however, Morocco limited clear-cut opportunities despite the mounting pressure. When the final whistle sounded, it was Morocco who emerged 2-1 winners to avenge their defeat by the same scoreline in the 2022 WAFCON final.
