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'Oh my gosh, it was the best ever!' said the Banyana forward on playing with hero Jermaine Seoposenwe.
Ronnel Donnelly made her Banyana debut against Ghana in the WAFCON on Monday. Picture: BackpagePix
Ronnel Donnelly had a very South African response to making her Banyana Banyana debut on Monday alongside her idol Jermain Seoposenwe.
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“Yoooooooooh!,” said the 21 year-old University of Western Cape Forward after coming off the bench in the 2-0 win over Ghana in Banyana’s 2024 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations Group C opener.
Banyana’s Donnelly – ‘I can learn a lot from her’
“Oh my gosh, it was the best ever! It felt really good and it gave me hope … I can learn a lot from her. I enjoyed playing with her a lot. The fact that we played at the same time, I was like ‘damn, ok! I see something!’”
Donnelly only came on for the last four minutes of the match. And she admitted that she wasn’t expecting to get on the pitch at the Honneur Stadium in Oujda, Morocco.
“I was nervous, it was my first cap, I didn’t expect to go on,” she said.
“But the fact that I did shows I am doing something good in practice. It motivates me a lot and shows me I can do something. I am excited now to work harder to get more caps.”
Banyana will play Tanzania at the same venue on Friday and Donnelly says another three points are required against the East African nation.
“Every game is important … for us it is another must-win,” she said.
“I think it is going to be very crucial. But as a team I think we have got this, we must just go and dominate and get the three points.”
Tanzania were edged out 1-0 by Mali in their Group C opener. They will need to bounce back against Banyana to stand any realistic chance of making the knockout rounds.
Mamelodi Sundowns ladies defender Bambanani Mbane, who was named Player of the Match against Ghana, says they must be on their toes against the Twiga Stars.
‘We’re not going to underestimate any team’
“We’ve told ourselves that we’re not going to underestimate any team in this tournament,” Mbane said, according to SowetanLive.
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“They lost their first game, so they’ll be eager to prove that they’re a team capable of doing well when they play against us.”
