Banyana Banyana star Thembi Kgatlana scored her second goal in the colours of Racing Louisville to help her side beat the defending National Women’s Soccer League champions for the first time ever.
After a very good run with Banyana Banyana at the FIFA Women’s World Cup, where she scored two goals and laid two assists, Kgatlana returned to her United States team with a lot of confidence.
The 27-year-old grabbed her first goal since returning from the World Cup in a 2-1 win over table-toppers Portland Thorns, which was the first ever win in six attempts for Louisville against the reigning NWSL champions.
The former Atletico Madrid attacker scored in the 64th before she was substituted after 89th minutes, helping her side to tie the club record for its longest unbeaten streak of five games.
The visitors had opened the score after six minutes, while Louisville netted two goals in close succession to turn the tie around after Abby Erceg scored the equaliser in the 60th minute and Kgatlana the much-celebrated winner four minutes later.
“I was thinking, ‘Can I get a shot? Can I get a shot?’” Kgatlana said. “I knew the minute she was wrong-footed that I needed to strike without hesitation, so I took the shot,” Kgatlana told her club’s media team.
Louisville moved to sixth place – the last spot of the NWSL playoff ranks – and sit five points behind Thorns with four games to go.
