Yaounde - Andile Dlamini believes that there is still a lot that she needs to do to become Banyana Banyana’s No. 1. The 24-year-old goalkeeper put on a good display in her audition for that job. She helped Banyana keep a clean sheet in their goalless draw with Zimbabwe in their opening match of the Africa Women Cup of Nations (AWC) on Saturday.
While Banyana’s strikers huffed and puffed, blowing a number of scoring chances, Dlamini had to be alert to keep the Mighty Warriors at bay as they tried to sneak a win. Rutendo Makore had two good chances to help Zimbabwe do that, but Dlamini was alert. She stretched to parry the first shot wide with one hand and had to time her dive well when Makore’s shot took an awkward bounce just in front of Dlamini.
“This performance isn’t enough (to make me the first choice),” Dlamini said. “I still have to work hard. I made a few mistakes. But at the same time we grow from mistakes.”
Banyana’s interim coach Desiree Ellis has a tough call to make on Tuesday when they take on the hosts Cameroon. Does she drop Dlamini after her best performance in Banyana colours for Roxanne Barker who would have started against Zimbabwe had she not arrived on Sunday from Netherlands? Or does Ellis keep faith in Dlamini and reward her for the stellar job she did against Zimbabwe?
“I still have to work hard,” Dlamini said. “There were a few mistakes that I made on the game. I still have to work hard, honestly speaking. Every goalkeeper wants a clean sheet. Not conceding is a big deal for me. But this game has passed now. I have to go to the next game and do it all over again. I was really excited to represent my country. I have always wanted to play in a tournament like this. I felt that at the age of 24, I should push myself and make the country proud. When I got the first line-up, I just thanked my siblings and my teammates because they have always been supportive. I wanted to do well not only for me but also for them.”
@extrastrongsa
Independent Media
*Njabulo Ngidi is in Yaounde courtesy of Sasol