{"id":15264,"date":"2025-07-10T14:37:09","date_gmt":"2025-07-10T12:37:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/?p=15264"},"modified":"2026-03-12T10:17:14","modified_gmt":"2026-03-12T08:17:14","slug":"donnelly-shines-in-first-banyana-appearance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/donnelly-shines-in-first-banyana-appearance\/","title":{"rendered":"Emotional Debut: Ronnel Donnelly Shines in First Banyana Appearance with Seoposenwe"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Ronnel Donnelly had a moment to cherish as she made her debut for Banyana Banyana on Monday, sharing the pitch with one of her football idols, Jermaine Seoposenwe. The 21-year-old forward from the University of the Western Cape couldn\u2019t hold back her excitement following her late cameo in South Africa\u2019s 2-0 victory over Ghana in their opening Women\u2019s Africa Cup of Nations (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wafcon-2025-banyana-banyana-out-to-prove-their-dominance\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">WAFCON<\/a>) Group C clash.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Reacting to the special milestone, Donnelly summed up her feelings in a heartfelt South African way: <em>\u201cYoooooooh!\u201d<\/em> It was a moment loaded with emotion and pride as she stepped onto the field at the Honneur Stadium in Oujda, Morocco.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-i-couldn-t-believe-i-was-playing-with-her\"><strong>\u2018I Couldn\u2019t Believe I Was Playing With Her\u2019<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Despite playing only the final four minutes of the match, Donnelly described her debut as \u201cthe best ever\u201d, especially given that she got to play alongside Seoposenwe. \u201cIt felt amazing. It gave me hope,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019ve always admired her, and to actually play with her\u2026 it was surreal. I kept thinking, \u2018Wow, I\u2019m on the pitch with Jermaine!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The young striker admitted she was caught by surprise when called upon, saying she hadn\u2019t expected to be subbed in during the match. \u201cI was nervous \u2013 it was my first appearance. I didn\u2019t think I\u2019d get a chance, but the fact that I did shows that I\u2019m doing something right in training,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"gaute-2975154586\" class=\"gaute-inbetween-content gaute-entity-placement\" style=\"margin-top: 30px;margin-bottom: 30px;margin-left: auto;margin-right: auto;text-align: center;\"><div class=\"gaute-adlabel\">Advertisement<\/div><script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1852772760112594\" crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:block;\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1852772760112594\" \ndata-ad-slot=\"1819787043\" \ndata-ad-format=\"auto\" data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\n<script> \n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); \n<\/script>\n<\/div><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-eyes-on-more-game-time\"><strong>Eyes on More Game Time<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Having tasted her first few minutes in senior national colours, Donnelly is eager for more. Her debut has fuelled her motivation to continue pushing for regular inclusion. \u201cIt has made me more determined. I want more caps now. I want to work harder,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Her next opportunity might come as early as Friday, when <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/banyana-banyanas-wafcon-campaign\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Banyana<\/a> return to the same venue to face Tanzania. The East African side suffered a narrow 1-0 defeat to Mali and will be desperate for a win to stay in contention for the knockout stages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Donnelly echoed the team\u2019s sentiment that every match is crucial at this level. \u201cEach game matters. This one is another must-win,\u201d she insisted. \u201cWe need to stay focused and get those three points. The team is confident and ready to take control of the match.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-mbane-calls-for-focus-and-respect\"><strong>Mbane Calls for Focus and Respect<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Meanwhile, experienced defender Bambanani Mbane, who earned the Player of the Match award for her commanding display against Ghana, stressed the importance of respecting all opponents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Speaking to <em>SowetanLive<\/em>, Mbane noted: \u201cWe\u2019ve agreed as a squad that we won\u2019t underestimate any team. Tanzania may have lost their opener, but they\u2019ll come at us with everything. We need to be prepared.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"gaute-1623098669\" class=\"gaute-inbetween-content gaute-entity-placement\" style=\"margin-top: 30px;margin-bottom: 30px;margin-left: auto;margin-right: auto;text-align: center;\"><div class=\"gaute-adlabel\">Advertisement<\/div><script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1852772760112594\" crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:block;\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1852772760112594\" \ndata-ad-slot=\"1819787043\" \ndata-ad-format=\"auto\" data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\n<script> \n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); \n<\/script>\n<\/div><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-fired-up-and-ready-to-go-again\"><strong>Fired Up and Ready to Go Again<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>With three points in the bag and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.citizen.co.za\/sport\/soccer\/local-soccer\/yoooh-donnelly-disbelief-making-banyana-debut\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">confidence building<\/a>, the national side is hoping to maintain momentum in Group C. For Donnelly, her brief but powerful debut is just the beginning of what could be a promising international career. Backed by a supportive team and learning from seasoned players like Seoposenwe, her story is one of hope, hard work, and a powerful reminder that dreams do come true\u2014even if they start with just four minutes on the pitch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Related article: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/desiree-ellis-praises-banyana-defence-after-win\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Desiree Ellis Praises Banyana\u2019s Resilient Defence After Strong WAFCON Start<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ronnel Donnelly had a moment to cherish as she made her debut for Banyana Banyana on Monday, sharing the pitch with one of her football idols, Jermaine Seoposenwe. The 21-year-old forward from the University of the Western Cape couldn\u2019t hold back her excitement following her late cameo in South Africa\u2019s 2-0 victory over Ghana in<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":15265,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_focus_keyword":"","rank_math_title":"","rank_math_description":"Ronnel Donnelly had a moment to cherish as she made her debut for Banyana Banyana on Monday, sharing the pitch with one of her football idols, Jermaine...","footnotes":""},"categories":[56,64],"tags":[289,2593,288,5616],"class_list":{"0":"post-15264","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"category-sports-news","9":"tag-african-football","10":"tag-banyana-banyana","11":"tag-soccer","12":"tag-wafcon-2025"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15264","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15264"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15264\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15267,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15264\/revisions\/15267"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15265"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15264"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15264"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15264"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}