‘Ronwen Williams left home aged 12’ – Father

Bafana Bafana have a new big hero: Ronwen Williams. The 32-year-old remarkably saved four out of five penalties against Cape Verde in the Afcon 2023 quarter-final game on Saturday night in Yamoussoukro, Ivory Coast.

Here’s a heart-warming back story from Williams’ father.

ALSO READ: Former Chiefs star released after six months

ALSO READ: Sundowns – Rulani gives instructions to Lorch at training

BAFANA BAFANA BEAT CAPE VERDE TO QUALIFY FOR THE AFCON 2023 SEMIFINALS

The game ended goalless after 90 minutes and 30 minutes of extra time, where Williams delivered a staggering save to deny Gilson Tavares a winner in the 88th minute.

Bafana went on to win the penalty kicks 2-1, a very unusual score in the shootouts right? Well, no goalkeeper in a major tournament has ever saved four out of five penalties before.

ALSO READ: Orlando Pirates striker given another chance

ALSO READ: PSL return – Orlando Pirates fixtures this month

Coach Hugo Broos admitted that the tension of the match caused him to age a few more years, but Man of the Match Williams saved the night.

“Let’s say six hours ago I was 71, now I’m 75,” Broos said as quoted by iDiskiTimes.

“It was a stressful game, certainly the penalties. You know what happens when you have to take penalties, it’s a very special situation for the players,” the Bafana mentor added.

“Sometimes you do a little game after training, taking penalties and nearly no player misses a penalty but you see today what happened, not only with us but also the players from Cape Verde. That means, we can be happy, but players want to get a penalty. We were, not lucky because we had a very good keeper today. If you can save four penalties, this is not luck anymore. You can save one, but four, this is not luck.

ALSO READ: Nigeria coach on what he wants against Bafana

ALSO READ: Ticket sales – Orlando Pirates vs Kaizer Chiefs

“He did not only that, he saved us two minutes before the end with a player that was alone infront of him. Yes, he was Man of the match. I think we could choose nobody else, because he is really Man of the Match,” the Bafana tactician concluded.

RONWEN WILLIAMS’ FATHER SPEAKS

Speaking to the media since his son’s heroics last weekend, the proud father revealed that Williams left home as young as 12.

“Yoh, it was hectic. I was clinching onto the TV. But I had no doubt in my mind, that he was going to save at least one or two – but not four, no. That was outstanding,” Rodney told the truBreakfast, as quoted by SABC.

“I was very proud of him, as a father, knowing where he came from – as a little boy, he left PE [Gqeberha] at the age of 12, and went to Jo’burg to join SuperSport United.

“Yoh, it wasn’t easy, really, it wasn’t easy to leave your son, your baby son, to go into the world. But, at the end of the day, it was worth it,” the father concluded.

Meanwhile, the Mamelodi Sundowns keeper will lead Bafana in the semifinals against Nigeria on Wednesday at 19:00.

You can find more articles from Siseko Gwegwe here.