South Africa ended a successful 2022 Women's Africa Cup of Nations Group C campaign with a 1-0 win over Botswana in the Southern African Derby encounter on Sunday.
A late goal by Nthabiseng Majiya earned a lacklustre Banyana side a narrow victory over the Mares in their final group stage match which took place at Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Morocco.
However, Banyana will be worried about the injuries picked up by their key players Thembi Kgatlana and Jermaine Seoposenwe in this match ahead of their quarter-final clash with Tunisia on Thursday.
With her side having already booked their spot in the quarter-finals, Banyana coach Desiree Ellis made several changes as she recalled Janine van Wyk, Linda Motlhalo and Bambanani Mbane back to the starting line-up.
Star attackers Seoposenwe and Kgatlana led the attack as South Africa looked to make it three wins in a row in Group C having already defeated Nigeria and Burundi.
On the other hand, Botswana were hoping to cause an upset against a more fancied Banyana side with Keitumetse Dithebe, who scored in the Mares' 4-2 win over Burundi on Monday, leading the attack.
However, South Africa had to be wary of 2022 Caf Women's Footballer of the Year nominee Refilwe Tholakele, who grabbed a brace in the win over Burundi, but was neutralised by Nigeria on Thursday.
South Africa controlled the match from the start with Botswana happy to sit back and absorb the pressure from their Southern African rivals.
With the Mares' defence looking solid and compact, Banyana resorted to taking shots from range with Motlhalo, Kholosa Biyana and Sibulele Holweni all failing to test goalkeeper Sedilame Boseja as they couldn't keep their attempts from distance on target.
Banyana upped the tempo after the half-hour mark, but their final product was poor as they either gave away possession in the final third or took rushed shots which missed the target.
The closest the five-time Wafcon runners-up came to scoring in the first half was when Holweni hit the upright from a corner with the score at 0-0.
The Mares were under siege after the restart, with Banyana pushing for the opening goal and Boseja found herself particularly busy between the sticks.
The Mamelodi Sundowns shot-stopper produced a magnificent save to deny Melinda Kgadiete, who had replaced an injured Seoposenwe. Boseja then gathered a deflected shot from Kgatlana who had burst into the Botswana box before pulling the trigger.
Ellis decided to refresh her attack with 19 minutes left as she pulled out Kgatlana who had sustained an injury and introduced Majiya, whose blistering speed created problems for the Mares' tired defence.
The 18-year-old sensation proved to be an inspired substitute as she scored the winning goal, beating Boseja from close range in the 80th minute to seal South Africa's 1-0 victory on the night.
The win saw Banyana finish their group stage campaign with a 100 per cent win record as Group C winners and they will now face Tunisia in a quarter-final clash on Thursday.
On the other hand, Botswana also progressed to the last eight as one of the three best third-placed teams and they will now square off with tournament hosts Morocco on Wednesday.
