Banyana travel to Zambia for 'fitness match'

Banyana Banyana head coach Desiree Ellis wants her side to gain match fitness from their friendly match against Zambia tomorrow at Lusaka's Nkoloma Stadium. 

The team flew to Zambia yesterday. They will have their captain's run today ahead of the match. 

The game serves as a rehearsal for their African Women’s Cup of Nations (Awcon) qualifiers against Algeria over two legs. The first match will be a home game for Banyana on February 18, and then they will travel to North Africa a week later.

The fitness of the players in training this week has impressed Ellis and she wants the Zambia match to give them a bit of match fitness. 

"I was really excited and surprised at the level of fitness considering the clubs just started preseason. Some of the players had their programmes but we sent our programme [to them] to make sure we cover all our bases," said Ellis. 

"So we have to give a very big thank you to the coaches at the clubs, they have worked hard with the players during preseason. 

"I know most of them haven't played many games, that could be a challenge for us in terms of match fitness. We have used the last couple of days to put in minutes by playing 11 versus 11 small-tided games to get ready for that. So I'm excited," she said. 

The Banyana mentor has a squad made up mostly of locally based players; she'll only have her internationals after the game with Zambia. 

Zambia, on the other hand, has some of their international players as they are yet to return to their respective overseas clubs. Ellis is expecting Zambia to provide a challenge for her side.

"We know they are a quality team, a lot of players that played in the Cosafa Cup will be there and some of their overseas-based players are there. 

"So it's not going to be an easy game, it's going to be a difficult game for us. It's not just about this game for us, it's about the qualifiers," said Ellis.