Banyana Banyana fightback comes up short in defeat to Serbia

Zivana Stupar of Serbia challenges Kholosa Biyana of South Africa during their friendly international at Sportski Centar FSS in Stara Pazova, Serbia on Monday. Photo: Alexsandar Djorovic/BackpagePix

Zivana Stupar of Serbia challenges Kholosa Biyana of South Africa during their friendly international at Sportski Centar FSS in Stara Pazova, Serbia on Monday. Photo: Alexsandar Djorovic/BackpagePix

Published Apr 10, 2023

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Cape Town — Banyana Banyana fought back from a 3-0 deficit to end 3-2 losers against hosts Serbia in an international friendly in Stara Pazova on Monday.

The 35th world-ranked Serbia ran up a 3-0 lead after only 22 minutes of play.

Defender Violeta Slovic scored the opening goal in the eighth minute, and Milica Mijatovic, who plays for Italian Serie A club Fiorentina, made it 2-0 in the 16th minute after Banyana failed to clear their lines after a goalmouth cross.

In the 22nd minute, the hosts made it 3-0 when Jovana Damnjanovic, a striker for Bayern Munich, scored.

This three-goal setback stung Banyana into action, and suddenly they managed to undo Serbia's vice-like grip on the match.

Some smart inter-play between Hildah Magaia and Jermaine Seoposenwe found an opening in the opposition defence, but the latter was fractionally wide of the target with her parting shot.

A minute later, on the half-hour mark, Banyana’s pressure paid off when they opened their scoring account through Magaia, who operated as a right-wing, alongside Seoposenwe in a central striker's berth.

Both sets of defences remained intact for the rest of the first half, and the team changed ends with Serbia leading 3-1.

In the second half, the African champions scored the only second-half goal through Seoposenwe in the 79th minute.

After their arrival in Serbia on Friday, Banyana were spectators at an international friendly between Serbia and Bosnia, who suffered a heavy 6-0 defeat. Watching this game gave Banyana a good idea of what to expect from the Serbians.

@Herman_Gibbs

IOL Sport