South Africa’s Thembi katglana was the toss of the day as she scored a superb goal to get their Africa Women’s Championship campaign off to a dream start with a 1-0 victory over defending champions Nigeria in the opening game of Group B on Sunday.

The goal is her 11th goal in 41 appearances for ‘Banyana Banyana’ and another crucial strike in her collection of many.

A magical moment it was for the Houston Dash star as she grab the woman of the match accolade and she expressed her feelings after the award.

‘’We knew it was going to be a difficult game against Nigeria and for once I am very proud of my team that we didn’t fear Nigeria and we did not give the space to operate. We had to step up and today was definitely the day.

‘’This means a lot to me and to the team because we know how important this is. Going forward, we look forward to play as a team and we came here with one goal which is to qualify for world cup, and we will approach each game step by step. On behave of the team and on behalf of South Africa, I want to thank everyone who came to support us’’.

Kgatlana came on from  the bench as an impact player by coach Desiree Ellis and within some few minutes she was set up by Jermaine Seoposenwe and drilled a volley into the back of the net .

The win over the super falcons of Nigeria gives Banyana Banyana a huge boost in their bid to finish in the top three at the continental finals and seal a place at the 2019 Fifa Women’s World Cup in France.

This victory will boost the team’s confidence as they come up against Equatorial Guinea on Wednesday.

By Matilda Dimedo