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- Banyana Banyana were beaten 2-0 by the Netherlands to exit the Women's World Cup at the round of 16 stage.
- They were let down by errors from Lebogang Ramalepe and Kaylin Swart in a game where they gave as good as they got.
- The Dutch will face Spain in their quarterfinal clash in Wellington on Friday.
Banyana Banyana lost their round of 16 World Cup tie 2-0 to the Netherlands at the Sydney Football Stadium on Sunday, but they did so with a high sense of pride and combativeness.
They conceded goals through Jill Roord in the sixth minute and Lineth Beerensteyn in the 68th minute, but they fought hard and did so right until the end.
It was their first-ever round-of-16 World Cup game and Banyana didn't look out of place though two errors made by Lebogang Ramalepe and Kaylin Swart were punished by the Dutch, who were reliant on a collective effort and a superb goalkeeping performance by Daphne van Domselaar.
The Dutch will face Spain on Friday in Wellington in the quarter-finals while Banyana are on their way back home.
Banyana were certainly not fazed by the occasion.
AS IT HAPPENED | Banyana 0-2 Netherlands
They were badly affected by two injuries sustained by Jermaine Seoponsenwe and Bambanani Mbane, with the key forward and centre-back coming off in the 30th and 42nd minutes, respectively.
Seoposenwe had collided with Mbane and Lineth Beerensteyn in the 19th minute and while she soldiered on for another 11 minutes, it was clear she was struggling.
Mbane had shored up Banyana's defence superbly with well-timed tackles and excellent game reading, but she came off second best in a midfield battle and had to be replaced be replaced by Tiisetso Makhubela.
Seoponsenwe was replaced by Wendy Shongwe and the substitutes certainly didn’t look lost in the cut-throat nature of the game.
With Refiloe Jane not making the fitness grade after her injury against Argentina last week, the feeling was SA had lost their spine, but this wasn't reflected in how combative they were, before and after the changes.
In fact, they were the first to ask questions in the sixth minute when Thembi Kgatlana's shot from a Seoposenwe pass was saved by Dutch keeper Van Domselaar.
It was the start of a game battle the Dutch keeper won, but one that also showed up her defence that wasn't containing the pacy Kgatlana.
The thing with teams like the Netherlands is that they only really need one chance to score and with their second opportunity in the ninth minute, they cracked the game open.
After Swart saved Esmee Brugts' eighth minute corner, the Dutch scored through Roord, who bundled the ball in after Lieke Martens had headed Sherida Spitse's corner goalward.
Lebogang Ramalepe attempted clearance went into the sky, from where Roord nodded the ball in and set Banyana back.
To their credit, Banyana, despite losing the 50/50 calls and the physical battle, stayed in the contest.
Kgatlana wore her heart on her sleeve and carried the fight to the Dutch with her rapid forays and in the 35th, 45th and 48th minutes saved by Van Domselaar.
Those chances, as tough as they were with Kgatlana being the lone striker and the one attacker who asked consistent questions of the Dutch defence, should have been converted.
They came back to haunt Banyana in the second half as the Dutch first starved them of possession, then had a Marten's goal in the 54th minute disallowed for offside, even though it needed intervention from a Video Assistant Referee perspective.
Banyana's dam wall did break 12 minutes later when Swart didn't properly collect Beerensteyn's speculative long-range shot, with the ball trickling into the net.
While Banyana's heads didn't visibly drop, the stuffing was well and truly knocked from their challenge and they didn't look like asking more questions.
They did attack in numbers in the 73rd minute, from where Linda Motlhalo's shot was well saved by Van Domselaar.
That was all she wrote for Banyana who were brave, but ultimately beaten.
