Late rally sees Banyana earn second win against Malawi at Lucas Moripe

Banyana Banyana rallied late at a storm-drenched Lucas Moripe Stadium on Tuesday to beat Malawi 2-1 in their second friendly against the Scorchers this month.

Having not looked overly convincing against keyed-up Malawi, and falling behind to an opener by Vanessa Chikupira in the 59th minute, goals from set pieces by Hildah Magaia in the 75th and Amogelang Motau in the 87th earned victory for Desiree Ellis’s team.

Tuesday’s win followed a 3-0 victory at UJ Soweto Campus on Saturday, Banyana registering two more positive results in their build-up to defending their 2022 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations title at this year’s tournament, also in Morocco, in July.

Malawi showed they had figured out areas to tighten up and they put in a far stronger shift in Atteridegville, creating chances and making them hard to come by for South Africa.

The visiting team struck the woodwork inside the opening minute, Chikupira played into space on the left and unleashed a scorcher past Kaylin Swart — playing her 50th match in South Africa’s goal — onto the crossbar.

Both sides rocked the frame in the opening half. Kgalebane Mohlakoana ran onto a deft through-ball and opted to drive from just outside the box, beating Malawian goalkeeper Mercy Sikelo onto the crossbar.

A poor back pass by a Banyana defender almost played Chikupira in on goal in the 56th, Swart making a desperate intercept.

From the resultant corner the Malawi forward got in ahead of a crowd of her own and South Africa’s players to nod home from close range.

After starting in decent, dry conditions, a storm pelted Lucas Moripe and the conditions seemed set to make any comeback hard to come by.

Banyana kept their cool and pulled one back from a corner by Nompumelelo Nyandeni, earning her 150th cap, which was spilt by Sikelo into the path of Magaia to connect a finish.

With time almost up, South Africa earned a free-kick that Motau struck powerfully from 25m past a flailing Sikelo.