Ellis Hails Banyana Despite Narrow England Loss - iDiski Times

Banyana Banyana head coach Dr Desiree Ellis was impressed with her side’s performance despite going down 2-1 to England in a friendly international on Tuesday night.

The African champions gave a good account of themselves in a highly competitive match against the European champions in their back yard as they continue to prepare for the 2025 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) in Morocco.

Banyana created better chances in the game especially in the second half but were let down by their decision making and final touch in the final third.

Ellis admitted the performance was a much better cry from the game against Denmark last week where they went down 5-0. The coach believes that even the country also is proud of the performance against the Lionesses something she was looking for following a game plan and matching their opponents in important areas in the tour of Europe.

“I thought the players today played according to the game plan,” said Ellis after the game.

“I thought they were absolutely magnificent today and I think the whole South Africa can be very proud of these players. I think today we withstood that physical battle. We gave as good as they gave, and we stood up and our players were counted today.

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“I think when we went in for the physical battles, we didn’t hold back but when we won the ball that’s when it was key. I think still at times we are not finding the right ball and making the right decisions in the final third but that is something we need to work on.

We had one day really to prepare for the Denmark game and one day to prepare for the England game and then match day-1.

“In the beginning of course we were rusty in our training but I thought today the players were magnificent and I thought the South Africans that came out here can be really proud as well.

“No one goes to the field to lose, and I think the 5-0 result is not what we planned but sometimes that happens when you don’t get things right on the field and a lot of those things we got right today.

We cut out the crosses, closed the inside. We forced them back into errors and we created the better chances, but this job is not finished yet because we still have a lot of work to do.”