Why Andile Dlamini and not Kaylin Swart? Banyana Banyana coach Desiree Ellis explains her choice to stick with Mamelodi Sundowns goalkeeper for WAFCON after criticism - 'She’s done it before'

Banyana Banyana head coach Desiree Ellis has explained why she was confident Andile Dlamini would perform better during the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) penalty shootout against Senegal.

To reach the last four, Ellis' side were made to sweat after Senegal held them to a goalless draw for 120 minutes in their quarterfinal before the winner was decided from the spotkicks.

Dlamini, whom Ellis pegged faith on in the shootout, saved two penalties, sending South Africa to the semi-finals.

“As I said, we’ve been practising penalties, and we knew who our kickers were going to be,” Ellis told reporters.

“That's why we made the changes we made as well. We always knew that Andile could save one or two [penalties]. We always knew; she’s done it before. By the way, this is our first penalty shootout win at WAFCON.

“We lost in 2006; we lost in 2018 in the final. So, this is our first win, but I said the game was going to be tough. I said the game was going to be hard, but we prevailed in the penalty shootout.”

At times, Ellis has been criticised for fielding Kaylin Swart over Dlamini.

Dlamini, a WAFCON Goalkeeper of the Year from the 2022 edition, saved two penalties from Nguenar Ndiaye and Meta Kande to send South Africa through. This performance underlines how important she is to Banyana. 

Dlamini enjoys a combined 13 saves in three games, which means that she has made two more saves than she made in the six games Mzansi played in 2022.

The 32-year-old custodian brings to the table experience from both the club level and the international podium. She is a champion with the Mamelodi Sundowns women's side and was part of the side that won the WAFCON title for the first time in the last edition.

This makes many people believe she is the best bet when it comes to goalkeeping duties for Bafana.

After Dlamini's heroics against Senegal, Banyana will face an even tougher assignment in the semi-final.

The reigning African queens are set to play record African champions Nigeria at Larbi Zaouli Stadium on Tuesday.