Ellis Proud Of Her Charges After Banyana’s Strong Comeback Against Tanzania
Banyana Banyana coach Desiree Ellis has praised her charges after the African champions came from behind to share the spoils with Tanzania in their CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) clash played at the Honneur Stadium in Oujda, Morocco, on Friday night.
A win would have seen the WAFCON defending champions secure a place in the next round of competition, but they remain top of Group C on goal difference following the 1-1 draw, with Mali in second place, although they are level on four points each.
The Twiga Stars took the 1-0 lead through striker and captain Opa Clement in the 24th minute, but the South African senior women’s national team rallied back in the second half to walk away with a point through Bambanani Mbane in the 70th minute.
“We said before the match that no game is easy. We saw how Nigeria scored in the last minute (against Botswana); that’s how difficult the games are going to be, but you have to take your chances. We felt if we got the three points, we would go through to the next round already, but it was not to be; there is still some more work to be done.
“There is no easy team anymore, they hadn’t picked up any points, we knew they needed to win at all costs and they came with a plan, made us play like a team under pressure when we were not under pressure, playing into their hands at times with the long ball, but still there is all to play for in the group,” said Ellis.
This was the second meeting between the two countries in this competition since 2010. Ellis had made four changes to the starting 11, bringing on Kaylin Swart for Andile Dlamini, while the trio of Lonathemba Mhlongo, Siyabulela Holweni, and Kgaelebane Mohlakoana came on for Tiisetso Makhubela, Amogelang Motau, and Lebohang Ramalepe, respectively.
“We had a good enough team to get a result, they scored early, and we had a chance to score before they could – we didn’t put it away, it is the nature of the game. We didn’t get the result we wanted but we are still in it.
“I thought the comeback was good, we could have won it as we had a couple of chances, but that’s how the game goes. This team has shown they have the grit, they have the courage, and the resilience to fight back and get the result that we deserve.”
Banyana Banyana are yet to taste defeat in the WAFCON after 13 games – 10 wins and three draws. With the draw, Tanzania collected their first ever points in a WAFCON fixture, leaving head coach Bakari Shime excited.
“Bravo for my girls, it was a very good game but also a tough one in both halves. Today we tried to change our tactics according to the strength of the opposition and we scored one goal, and we stayed like that for almost 50 minutes. Bad luck for us again because we conceded a goal from a set-piece, but it was a good game for both sides. I am happy with the whole team,” said Shime.
“To play against South Africa is very tough. We planned around this game, and we toiled a lot, so now we have to find a way to recover very quickly, physically and mentally. Then we plan how to play against Ghana – which for us will be a final match, we should win that match.”
South Africa next face Mali on Monday at the same venue, while Tanzania will tackle Ghana. Both games will kick off at the same time at 21:00 South African time (20:00 local time in Morocco).
