Banyana Banyana go down, but not without a fight

Hildah Magaia and Jermain Seoposenwe were on target but it wasn't enough to bring joy to coach Desiree Ellis as they reach the final stretch before heading for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand in July.

After beating neighbours Bosnia and Herzegovina 6-0 on Friday, Serbia started off on a bright note and quickly broke the deadlock as Violeta Slavic towered above Bambanani Mbane to head home a corner in the ninth minute.

The hosts were on target again eight minutes later as Andile Dlamini made a point-blank save to deny Slavic's header, but Milica Mijatovic was well-positioned to blast home the rebound.

Banyana were shell-shocked against the 35th-ranked nation in the world, who went 3-0 up in the 23rd minute as Allegra Poljak got a touch on a loose ball from a corner that caught trickled into the net as the visitors' defense was caught napping inside their danger zone.

They eventually managed to compose themselves and found their footing, with captain Refiloe Jane picking Magaia out with a well-placed cut-back for the latter to tap home.

Ellis' charges then had their tails up and enjoyed some enterprising passages of play but just lacked the final pass to trouble the home side's goal, with a number of poor decisions in the final third also seeing the score go unchanged into the half-time break.

The South Africans continued from where they left off in the first half, but still couldn't crack the Serbian defense, as they too kept the hosts at bay.

In the 72nd minute, Banyana had appeals for a penalty turned down as a Serbian defender miscued her attempted header, with the ball falling onto her hand before she could eventually clear, but the referee ignored the cries.

Eventually, some joy came with just over 10 minutes to play as Jane instinctively picked out Seoposenwe's devastating run through the middle, and the latter coolly slotted home to open the game up.

Banyana pushed for the equaliser in the dying minutes but the Serbians held firm at the back to wind down the clock and close their international break with two wins from two, while Ellis and co. will now return home with a better idea of where they stand.

With the next FIFA women's international break only in June, a squad resembling something closer to Banyana's final World Cup selection is sure to assemble just weeks before heading Down Under.