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- Banyana Banyana might have registered a commanding win in Dar es Salaam in the first leg of the Olympics qualfiers but Seoposenwe, who was one of the scorers, feels there's room for improvement.
- Banyana will host Tanzania in the return leg of the qualifiers at Mbombela Stadium on Tuesday night.
- If they advance from this round, they will face either Cameroon or Nigeria in the last leg of the qualifiers, where the winner will be one of two African representatives at the Games.
- For more sports news, go to the News24 Sport front page.
The hard-to-please Jermaine Seoposenwe was content with Banyana Banyana's 3-0 win over Tanzania in the first leg of the Olympics qualifiers, but admitted that the team can improve - especially with the competition set to increase in the next round.
Banyana overcame rustiness in their first match since 4 December to easily brush aside Tanzania in Dar es Salaam on Friday and put themselves in a favourable position ahead of the return leg in Mbombela on Tuesday night.
If Banyana progress from this stage, they will face either Cameroon or Nigeria - who will offer a stiffer challenge – in the last stage of the qualifiers in April where the winner of that two-legged tie will be one of two women's teams to represent Africa at the Games in Paris later this year.
The west African giants played to a goalless draw in the first leg in Douala on Friday. Abuja will host the return leg on Monday. Seoposenwe and company failed to qualify for the last edition in Tokyo, which would have made it a hat-trick of Olympics appearances after appearing in the Rio and London Games.
Seoposenswe was Banyana's star in Rio, wowing the Brazilians crowd with her skills and flair. She showed her clinical touch on Friday afternoon, finding the back of the net along with Thembi Kgatlana and Hildah Magaia.
"The team hasn't played together in a while, the (South Africa-based) players are coming back from pre-season (ahead of the kick-off of the domestic league)," Seoposenwe told SAFA media after the match in Dar es Salaam.
"The players coming from abroad have started their seasons, so trying to mash that up was tough. The players have heavy legs but we managed the game well. Thembi got into the score sheet and Hildah got into the score sheet, it's amazing that the front three scored. We played in patches.
"I know we can do better. That is the result of us not being together for a very long time. I am really proud of the team. We kept a clean sheet and the players really stepped up. Rama (Lebogang Ramalepe) had an amazing game for me. No one got past her. I am really proud of the team. We got the result that we came here for."
READ| Banyana move closer to realising Olympics dream after thumping Tanzania in their own backyard
The front three once again showed their quality, linking up well to get the three goals. Seoposenwe is the brains of that trio, always popping up in good scoring chances, with the forward a bigger threat when she doesn't have the ball.
Kgatlana is the heart, always fighting and showing tenacity to score, even from the most awkward of angles.
Magaia is the soul. She is the trio's trusted supplier, but also has a knack for coming up with the goals – more so when the chips are down. She could be forced to play an even bigger role on Tuesday should Kgatlana not recover from the injury that saw her stretchered off the pitch a few minutes away from fulltime.
"The players were clinical in front of goal. Hildah, myself and Thembi have had great seasons in our teams," Seoposenwe said of the Mexico-based trio.
"We just brought that experience to the national team, which is amazing. We just got back into the groove. The three of us know each other really well. Everyone played really well. Yes, we made a couple of mistakes here and there but we grow and we learn.
"A great team performance at the end of the day and a great win away, which hasn't really been the trend for the past Wafcon (Women's Afcon) and even Olympic qualifiers. We came together, worked together as a team and everyone did their job."
This was Banyana's first away win since thumping Mozambique 7-0 in the qualifiers of the 2022 Women's Afcon which they won in Morocco. This highlights the challenging nature of playing away in the continent, with wins on the road worth gold.
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It's why the team is almost certain of advancing to the last round of the Olympics qualifiers. But Seoposenwe and her Banyana teammates aren't thinking about that stage as yet. In the 3-0 win over Tanzania a few chinks in their armory were exposed, which coach Desiree Ellis will look to work on before the clash in Mbombela.
"From the start, we need to control the match. We need to dictate the tempo and work on the things that we did wrong," said Seoposenwe.
"We need to look at the film, look at what their weaknesses were because there were a couple of times that we built up really well. Noko (Matlou) and Karabo (Dhlamini) did really well. Doing that more, getting more comfortable on the ball and being able to free ourselves and get into good spaces will help us get a positive result at home.
"They tried to limit space for me, Thembi and Hildah. They had a good game plan, but at the end of the day the quality in our team showed. We created chances and scored, which was really important. We could have scored more, but I don't think that the coach could ask for more for us (in the first leg away from home). We need to be little more determined from the beginning."
