Ronnel Donnelly: 21, tall and amazing

“When I first got the call-up I was intimidated. I was thinking of saying no. I didn’t believe it. I kept messaging people asking, ‘Is this legit?’” - Ronnel Donnelly

Telford Vice / Oujda

“AMAZING!” Booming above the hubbub of a women’s Africa Cup of Nations (Wafcon) mixed zone, with its clamour of reporters jostling for quotable lines from players fleeting past, isn’t easy. But Ronnel Donnelly managed effortlessly at the Stade d’Honneur on Monday.

Her loud, proud exclamation, made directly to the Sunday Times, sparkled in the hot late night air. It was the obvious answer to an obvious question: how did she feel about scoring her first international goal?

The UWC forward’s 79th-minute right-footed thump put the ball beyond a diving Alima Cisse in Mali’s goal and into the bottom lefthand corner of the net. It was South Africa’s fourth goal without reply.

By then the game had been won, but Donnelly’s achievement was celebrated with a pile-on near the corner flag. Her teammates arrived first, then the bench, then some of the support staff. Donnelly’s popularity was visceral.

Asked if scoring made her feel like she belonged at this level, she beamed: “Yes, definitely!” Told she looked like she did indeed belong, she gushed: “I do! I do!”

She blurted these baubles of bliss without arrogance. This is what happiness looks and sounds like. It burbled from her like water from a spring. If she smiled any wider the top half of her head might have fallen off. Her eyes, adorned with lashes at least as long as Alex Ferguson’s tenure at Manchester United — the club she supports — gleamed with glory.

Desiree Ellis has seen plenty over the years, but her eyes also shone at the press conference after the match: “I’m very pleased for Ronnel. We’ve been working on certain things with her in training, so we’re glad to see that reflected.”

The explosively ebullient Donnelly was a far cry from the reticent figure who wasn’t keen to be interviewed at the team hotel days earlier. She said then she was a second-year student who might change direction from criminal to family law due to football’s demands. And that her mother, Thulisille Donnelly, had been a midfielder for KZN club Shooting Stars.

She also said: “When I first got the call-up I was intimidated. I was so scared to even come to Morocco; I was thinking of saying no. Honestly, I didn’t believe it. I kept messaging people asking, ‘Is this true? Is this legit?’”

Donnelly didn’t have reasonable opportunities to show what she could do before she was brought on for Hilda Magaia in the 69th minute of the Mali. She replaced Noxolo Cesane in the 86th in the 2-0 win over Ghana and came on for Fikile Magama in the 91st in the 1-1 draw with Tanzania.

Even so, Donnelly’s arrival in the first two games brought an injection of physical presence, bustling energy and hard edge that added to the team’s overall performance. Suddenly things happened faster, more securely, and with a jolt of intent.

Her initial experience of playing for Banyana, even for a scant few minutes, taught her that “the intensity and the demand is so much higher. That affects you a lot, but it’s good because it pushes you to your limit.”

It helps being 21. And standing a sturdy 1.75 metres tall. Other players die dramatic deaths at the slightest skew look from an opponent. Donnelly scrambles back to her feet and resumes her relentless chase for the ball. She plays football. She doesn’t play at playing football.

If you’ve watched her at this tournament, you may struggle to believe that the Ghana game was her Banyana debut. She is the baby in a changeroom that harbours players big enough to go by one name exclusively: Jermaine, Hildah, Ramalepe, Andile!

“I’ve always looked up to these people, now I get to play with them. It’s like, damn!”

Indeed. A damn fine player who can only get better. And even more amazing than she is already.

The Sunday Times