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Bafana Bafana goalkeeper Ronwen Williams has credited team analyst Sinesipho Mali as the force behind his penalty-saving heroics that earned South Africa a place in the Afcon semifinals.
Williams did the unthinkable - a first in the tournament - when he saved four penalty kicks during Bafana’s quarterfinal clash against Cape Verde at Stade Charles Konan Banny de Yamoussoukro on Saturday night.
The 32-year-old stopped the spotkicks during the dramatic shootout that Bafana won 2-1 to set a semifinal date with old foes Nigeria on Wednesday.
In fact, it was the Mamelodi Sundowns goalkeeper who sent the game down to the wire when he thwarted a close range scoring attempt by Cape Verde star Gilson Benchimol, in stoppage time.
Williams’ Cape Verde counterpart Vozinha also pulled off breathtaking saves, denying Mihlali Mayambela and Evidence Makgopa in game that Broos rightfully described as “boring” yet nerve-wracking.
During the spotkicks, Teboho Mokoena and Mothobi Mvala converted for Bafana, while Bryan Teixeira scored for Cape Verde.
Williams denied Bebe, Willy Semedo, Laros Duarte and Patrick Andrade to send Bafana into the last four for the first time since the 2000 Afcon edition co-hosed by Ghana and Nigeria.
Aubrey Modiba and Zakhele Lepasa also missed their penalty kicks.
Said Williams during a TV post match interview:
In accepting the player of the match award, Williams also paid tribute to his teammates, almost playing down his own massive contribution in a game that was tied goalless beyond 90 minutes and extra-time.
“[Penalty saves] it doesn’t mean anything... The fight and the desire we had as a team tonight, to fight for 120-plus minutes, that’s what matters for me. So, I would receive this trophy [player of the match] on behalf of the players, the technical team, the staff and everyone who have been with us in this journey," added Williams, who celebrated his 32nd birthday on 21 January - the day Bafana beat Namibia 4-0.
READ: Afcon2023 | Bafana captain Ronwen Williams revels for club and country
In turn, coach Broos also paid tribute to his goalkeeper, who he installed as team captain in August 2021, two months after the Belgian took over.
Broos, who at 71 is the oldest coach at Afcon, joked that the 120 minutes of play made him feel like he was a 75-year-old.
Said Broos:
‘The worst game of the tournament’
Broos admitted that his team’s showing against Cape Verde was not the best, especially coming from a Bafana that eliminated Africa’s number one-ranked side, Morocco in the last 16.
Said the coach: “Overall the match was not so good. I think we played the worst game of the tournament - of all our games."
After all, as former champions, South Africa are counted as favourites in the last four that has Nigeria, hosts Ivory Coast and the Democratic Republic of Congo, who will meet in the other semifinal.
The road to the semifinals
After opening their campaign with a 2-0 loss to Mali, Bafana’s 4-0 hammering of Namibia in the group stage was the turning point.
South Africa secured a vital point in goalless draw against Tunisia to secure a place in the last 16, where they beat Morocco 2-0.
With a semifinal clash against Nigeria all set for Wednesday, the fixture will pit two former champions against each other.
In winning the 1996 tournament, South Africa succeeded the Super Eagles, who were the champions in 1994, but could not defend their title when SA hosted the tournament, citing security concerns.
In their last meeting in Afcon, Nigeria beat South Africa 2-1 in the quarterfinals in Egypt in 2019.
