Maputo - South Africa’s under-23 women’s soccer team were humbled by Cameroon in their semi-final at the All Africa Games in Maputo, Mozambique on Tuesday.
Banyana Banyana held strong until the 35th minute when Cameroon’s winger Gabrielle Aboudi Onguene scored the opener.
After the goal, the South African’s played with more composure and went into the second half with more confidence.
They challenged hard after the interval but suffered another blow when striker Gaelle Enganemouit scored Cameroon's second goal.
Banyana then began to look pedestrian as they attempted to play the long ball with the Cameroonians closing down any attacks launched by South Africa's second-string side.
South African coach Bongani Yengwa said the opposition gave a well-balanced performance while his team could not find any consistency.
He said they had two realistic scoring opportunities but they were unable to capitalise on those chances.
"After they scored their second goal, we seemed to have lost concentration but towards the end we had a few chances," said Yengwa.
The team still have a chance of winning a bronze medal on Friday when they play the loser of Wednesday’s other semi-final between Algeria and Ghana.
South Africa drew 2-2 with Ghana during the group stages of the Games.