Banyana Banyana striker Jermaine Seoposenwe best summed up her team’s 0-2 Olympic defeat to China in Rio on Saturday night.
“The Chinese were quick and we were shocked‚” she said of the loss that has ended her side’s Games campaign.
Having lost 0-1 to Sweden earlier in the week‚ they will pack their bags for home irrespective of how they perform against hosts Brazil on Tuesday night.
“Disappointed‚ terrible‚” Seoposenwe added after the match.
Skipper Janine van Wyk could think only of a missed opportunity to improve on London 2012 if they had advanced to the knockout stages here.
“This was the moment for us to get to the next round‚ but it did not work out that way.”
Stephanie Malherbe said the team just didn’t gel on the night.
“We battled‚ but weren’t quite connected … The team face a couple of injuries from the last game which led to changes in the line-up.
“We didn’t have the energy that China had.”
Asked what she hoped to prove against Brazil‚ midfielder Malherbe replied: “We just want to come out and prove that we are good football players.”
The South Africans were never in a game where China had 58% of ball possession‚ and fired 12 shots on target compared to Banyana’s two.
One of them was scored by midfielder Ruyin Tan from the edge of the centre-circle in South Africa’s half in the 87th minute.
“It feels like a miracle‚” Tan said. “I have been in the national team for a long time‚ but I have not scored many goals.”
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