4th February, 2024
By Kazeem Ugbodaga
Ronwen Williams saved four penalties as South Africa beat Cape Verde 2-1 to advance to the Semi-finals of the African Cup of Nations (AFCON).
The match ended goalless after 120 minutes, which necessitated shootouts to decide which team go into the Semi-final.
Williams saved four of the five kicks by Cape Verde while South Africa converted two kicks.
Earlier, in the 10th minute, Teboho Mokoena was unlucky with a goal-bound effort from the edge of the box. A fortuitous save from Vozinha stopped the ball from going into the middle of the goal.
In the 54th minute, a fine pass found Evidence Makgopa in space inside the box, he looked up and drilled a low shot towards the middle of the goal, but the Vozinha reacted superbly to deny him.
Two minutes later, Williams pulled off a great save to deny Garry Rodrigues, who made himself some space inside the box and unleashed a quick low drive to the bottom left corner.
Three minutes into added time, Benchimol failed to beat the keeper from a good chance. He received a nice lofted pass inside the box and shot towards the roof of the net, but the goalkeeper deflected the ball onto the post with a quick reaction save and maybe some luck.
In the 92nd minute, Mihlali Mayambela had a great chance inside the six-yard box, shot to the middle of the goal, but Vozinha pulled off an exquisite save to deny him.
Within the same period, Makgopa rose above the opponent’s defence and headed a precise cross towards the roof of the net. His effort, however, was blocked by Vozinha, who pulled off a stunning save.