Banyana Banyana coach Desiree Ellis and her players Bambanani Mbane and Noxolo Cesane are content with the way the team rounded off the year after another impressive performance in Morocco on Tuesday night.
The South Africans defeated Morocco 2-0 in Agadir, and the head coach was enthralled with her players’ performance.
According to Ellis, the victory will go a long way in Banyana’s quest to reclaim the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (Wafcon) title from Nigeria, who wrestled the trophy away from the South Africans in 2024. Banyana had won the tournament in 2022 in Morocco.
Big confidence booster
“The win was a big confidence booster. Going to Morocco, which will host the tournament in a few months, was always going to be a big game, and indeed it was.
“I have to take off my hat for the players; they did well with a few things we tried at training.
She continued: “They didn’t always move the ball as we wanted, but we were in control and could change the point of attack.
“We could even attack on the flank and bring the ball back inside. And when the chances came, we took them really well.
“I am also happy we kept a clean sheet because defensively, we were excellent, and we did not give them anything.”
Ending the year on high note
Ellis further explained that the team has been working very hard in training since they arrived at the camp.
“It was a fantastic performance from a group of players who worked hard throughout the week. We select players on what we see—whether they can add value is up to them. I thought Jesse [Jessica Wade] came in early and gave a fantastic performance.
“We are familiar with Bonolo Mokoma’s abilities, and we observed her performance against DR Congo. Nthabi [Nthabiseng Majiya] got the start today, and we took our goals very nicely.
“It’s a confidence booster to end the year on such a high and on such a positive note. The game took place after qualifying for Afcon, and this strong performance against the hosts provides good momentum as we head into the off-season with a lot of confidence.
“The Wafcon was increased to 16 teams; it is going to be a tough competition, and it is going to be a World Cup-qualifying competition. We will have to be better than we were against Morocco,” she added.
