Desiree Ellis: “Happy for the win but there’s still some work to do”
Banyana Banyana kicked off their Confederation of African Football (CAF) Women’s Africa Cup of Nations preparations by securing a 1-0 friendly international victory over Lesotho at the University of Johannesburg (UJ), Soweto Campus, on Saturday.
The Banyana Banyana squad had a somewhat unfamiliar look to it, with coach Desiree Ellis selecting a youthful lineup of rising stars to provide them with the experience of wearing the national jersey.
Players who had previously represented South Africa at u15, u17, and u20 levels in the Cosafa Championship last year were called up, including JVW FC goalkeeper Casey Gordon, Nobahle Mdelwa (University of Johannesburg), Katlego Malebana (Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies FC), Khwezi Khoza (Durban Ladies FC), Katleho Mohame (JVW FC), and Mmabatho Mogale (University of the Western Cape).
Banyana Banyana experienced a challenging start and struggled to string passes together during the first half of the match. At the break, the teams were deadlocked at 0-0, with neither capitalising on the chances they created.
In the second half, though, Banyana Banyana raised their performance and played with greater intensity, which produced more scoring opportunities.
Coach Ellis turned to her bench, which included introducing Khwezi Khoza, one of South Africa’s youngest and most promising talents, who plays for Durban Ladies FC in the Hollywoodbets Super League.
She quickly made her mark by earning a penalty for South Africa after being fouled in the penalty area. Nobahle Mdelwa stepped forward to take the spot kick and successfully converted to give South Africa a 1-0 lead.
Lesotho kept challenging the home team, but their attempts to equalise went unrewarded and Banyana Banyana claimed a 1-0 victory.
After the game, Ellis expressed her satisfaction with the game’s outcome, noting, however, that significant work remains to be done and improvements made.
“We wanted them to play and move the ball around,” she said. “At times, we didn’t. Especially in the first half, our movement of the ball wasn’t great, but there were some good moments.”
Banyana Banyana will face Lesotho again on Tuesday at the same venue, on the UJ Soweto Campus, at 18:00.
