South Africa’s Ronwen Williams became the first goalkeeper in AFCON history to save four penalties in a shootout as he led Bafana Bafana to the semifinals at Charles Konan Banny Stadium in Yamoussoukro, Ivory Coast.
The Mamelodi Sundowns keeper has four clean sheets in the competition and is a contender for the Golden Glove. He has been impressive for the Hugo Broos-coached team, which has advanced to the semifinals for the first time in 24 years.
He saved four penalties in the quarterfinals against Cape Verde, advancing Bafana to the last four, where they will face Nigeria’s Super Eagles on Wednesday for a spot in the final.
Some Zambians took to social media to commend Kennedy Mweene, who is an assistant goalkeeper coach at Sundowns for Williams’s outstanding performances at the AFCON.
Though some thought of it as ordinary football banter, Mweene told BolaNews that he is unworthy of the praise he is receiving from his compatriots for Willaims’ AFCON heroics.
“Let’s not take away the spotlight that Ronwen has,” he said. “He is having a fantastic tournament and credit must be given to him.
“Some of us who are working with him are very proud of him. It’s the same thing he does with our team, Sundowns, and he has taken it to the national team.”
‘Williams was already good before joining Sundowns’
The 2012 AFCON-winning goalkeeper also stated that the 32-year-old shot-stopper joined Sundowns when he was already adept at saving penalties for SuperSport United.
“Ronwen came to Sundowns when he was already good with penalties. He has been a very good penalty saver even before he came to Sundowns. I would never take credit for his excellent performances.”
The Bafana Bafana keeper joined Sundowns in July 2022 from SuperSport United, where he spent his entire career since his debut in 2012. He made over 350 league and cup appearances for Matsatsantsa and won six trophies, including three Nedbank Cups, two MTN8 titles, and one Telkom Knockout trophy.
After joining Sundowns, Williams rivalled Uganda’s Denis Onyango, Mweene, and Reyaad Pieterse to become the first-choice goalkeeper.
