AWC: Ghana, South Africa FightFor SDupremacy

Ghana and South Africa will rekindle their age-long rivalry when the two sides face-off on Wednesday in the Group B day two match at the Independence Stadium in Windhoek.

On the wheels of defeats in their opening matches, South Africa lost 1-0 to Cameroon and Ghana suffered a similar fate against Algeria; the two teams’ future at the championships largely depends on this game.

For both teams, nothing short of the maximum points will be detrimental to their chances, which makes the encounter between two of the powerhouses in women’s football on the continent very dicey.

South Africa’s Banyana Banyana, top ranked team in the group by virtue of being losing finalists at the last edition in 2012 in Equatorial Guinea find themselves in a difficult situation against a Ghana side equally in a state of shock after Algeria pipped them in the opening match.

South Africa coach Vera Pauw expects a stiff test against the Black Queens, and has tagged midfielder Juliet Acheampong as the most dangerous to worry about.

“It is a must win. The players are very determined and we have been working on our lapses from the first game against Cameroon which we dominated three-quarters.

“I’m extremely impressed with the maturity shown by the players. The game against Ghana is tougher than the first game and hopefully we will keep our determination on track,” said Pauw.

For Captain Janine Van Wyk, she takes inspiration from the fact that the team went all the way in the last edition after losing 1-0 to hosts and eventual winners Equatorial Guinea in their opening game.

“We’ve been in such situation before and have done it before. We are not dropping our heads and will take each game step by step. We have the experience to do it and the girls are determined to come out with a good result.”

The Black Queens will be without right back Hillia Kobblah for the crucial game, which coach Yusif Basigie has charged his players to maintain their focus to achieve the desired result.

“We need to be focus. In the first game, we attacked without focus and that caused us. The girls have regained confidence after Algerian loss. They have told me they cannot afford to lose for a second time. 

“We will approach the game with all the seriousness and will go into the game with a different game plan to get the three points which is vital for us. The mindset of the players is that though we lost, we are not out,” Basigie told Cafonline.com.

Previous meetings

1998 Ghana 4-0 South Africa

2000 South Africa 1-0 Ghana (semi-final)

2004 South Africa 0-3 Ghana

2006 Ghana 1-0 South Africa (semi-final)

2008 South Africa 1-0 Ghana