“We have had the overseas-based players come in little by little. Refiloe and Lebogang were part of the training on Monday. Linda Motlhalo was training on the side, Thembi came in yesterday morning. Some players will work on the side, others with the team,” said Ellis.
“Already two players came in and the intensity went up, we shouldn’t be waiting for them to come. Bringing in the overseas players you can see they are playing at the top level. They bring so much mentality and raise the levels.
“That’s important for us, especially the young and new players that are here. We always speak about the overseas players and now they see firsthand what we are talking about. We have to consistently raise the levels,” she said.
Ellis has been plotting the tactical patterns for the match on Friday, planning for different scenarios that may happen on the field. Though they are more fancied than Algeria, Banyana are not taking their opponents lightly and are meticulously planning for the match.
“We are concentrating a lot on the movement of the ball, pressing, rotating the ball quicker and keeping the position. Making sure we plan for every eventuality. We don’t know what plan they will come with.
“We have watched them play, they are good technically but I feel we are better, but still we have to execute the plan.
Ellis welcomes overseas-based players after drubbing
'They bring so much mentality and raise the levels'
Image: Sydney Mahlangu/BackpagePix
Banyana Banyana head coach Desiree Ellis is pleased to have her international-based players in the camp as they prepare for a crucial Africa Women Cup of Nations qualifier tie against Algeria.
SA will host the North Africans on Friday at the Orlando Stadium for the first leg and then will travel to Algeria for the second leg on February 23.
Ellis’ team has been preparing for the qualifier since the beginning of the month; they had a friendly match against Zambia where they lost 3-0. Before this week, Banyana did not have their foreign-based players for the drubbing.
At the start of the week, the Fifa window opened up, meaning players could join their national teams. Banyana welcomed the likes of AC Milan Women ace Refiloe Jane, Thembi Kgatlana, Belarusia-based Lebogang Ramalepe and many more. They arrived at different intervals since Sunday, but the core was completed by last night.
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“We have had the overseas-based players come in little by little. Refiloe and Lebogang were part of the training on Monday. Linda Motlhalo was training on the side, Thembi came in yesterday morning. Some players will work on the side, others with the team,” said Ellis.
“Already two players came in and the intensity went up, we shouldn’t be waiting for them to come. Bringing in the overseas players you can see they are playing at the top level. They bring so much mentality and raise the levels.
“That’s important for us, especially the young and new players that are here. We always speak about the overseas players and now they see firsthand what we are talking about. We have to consistently raise the levels,” she said.
Ellis has been plotting the tactical patterns for the match on Friday, planning for different scenarios that may happen on the field. Though they are more fancied than Algeria, Banyana are not taking their opponents lightly and are meticulously planning for the match.
“We are concentrating a lot on the movement of the ball, pressing, rotating the ball quicker and keeping the position. Making sure we plan for every eventuality. We don’t know what plan they will come with.
“We have watched them play, they are good technically but I feel we are better, but still we have to execute the plan.
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