Banyana Banyana head coach Desiree Ellis desperately wants her team to qualify for the Africa Women's Cup of Nations (Awcon) when they play Algeria away on Wednesday.
If they book a spot in Morocco for this year’s continental spectacle, Banyana will still be on track to qualify for the 2023 Fifa Women’s Cup.
SA has a healthy lead going into the second leg after defeating Algeria 2-0 in the first leg at the Orlando Stadium on Friday. Banyana delivered a decent performance against their visitors, as goals in either half by Hilda Magaia and Thembi Kgatlana secured the win.
Their class in terms of game management showed on the day. They were in control, even when at times it seemed like Algeria were in with a chance.
Going to the second leg in Algiers, Ellis is expecting a different Algeria compared to the one that looked to park the bus and play long balls while running onto the second ball. She’s expecting them to come out guns blazing as they chase the tie.
“The tie is not over, we have to make sure we do not concede, first of all,” said Ellis.
“They are going to come at us. They are a team with great fighting spirit, they never give up.
“They are 2-0 down, so they have to be different; we just have to make sure we don’t concede. We will always create chances. If they do open up, the speed of our players upfront and quick rotation will create a lot more openings.
“If we keep a clean sheet and score the first goal, then you can say the tie is almost over.”
In 2019, Banyana played an important Olympic qualifying tie against Botswana. They could only manage a goalless draw at home and failed to score away in the second leg. Eventually, they were knockout out on penalties.
The former Banyana skipper reminded her charges of the importance of burying their chances in crucial games, drawing from the experience against Botswana.
“We need to be more clinical in front of goal,” she said.
“When you go away from home it becomes more difficult. We have always said it is our achilles heel [not scoring away] and we have to continue working on it because we know the heartache of not taking our chances.
“We have to make sure we work on our finishing and put away the chances.”
Banyana face crucial Awcon encounter with Algeria
Ellis urges players to be more clinical and not to concede
Image: Lefty Shivambu/Gallo Images
Banyana Banyana head coach Desiree Ellis desperately wants her team to qualify for the Africa Women's Cup of Nations (Awcon) when they play Algeria away on Wednesday.
If they book a spot in Morocco for this year’s continental spectacle, Banyana will still be on track to qualify for the 2023 Fifa Women’s Cup.
SA has a healthy lead going into the second leg after defeating Algeria 2-0 in the first leg at the Orlando Stadium on Friday. Banyana delivered a decent performance against their visitors, as goals in either half by Hilda Magaia and Thembi Kgatlana secured the win.
Their class in terms of game management showed on the day. They were in control, even when at times it seemed like Algeria were in with a chance.
Going to the second leg in Algiers, Ellis is expecting a different Algeria compared to the one that looked to park the bus and play long balls while running onto the second ball. She’s expecting them to come out guns blazing as they chase the tie.
“The tie is not over, we have to make sure we do not concede, first of all,” said Ellis.
“They are going to come at us. They are a team with great fighting spirit, they never give up.
“They are 2-0 down, so they have to be different; we just have to make sure we don’t concede. We will always create chances. If they do open up, the speed of our players upfront and quick rotation will create a lot more openings.
“If we keep a clean sheet and score the first goal, then you can say the tie is almost over.”
In 2019, Banyana played an important Olympic qualifying tie against Botswana. They could only manage a goalless draw at home and failed to score away in the second leg. Eventually, they were knockout out on penalties.
The former Banyana skipper reminded her charges of the importance of burying their chances in crucial games, drawing from the experience against Botswana.
“We need to be more clinical in front of goal,” she said.
“When you go away from home it becomes more difficult. We have always said it is our achilles heel [not scoring away] and we have to continue working on it because we know the heartache of not taking our chances.
“We have to make sure we work on our finishing and put away the chances.”
We must play in Awcon, World Cup – Van Wyk
Clash with Algeria a must-win - Jane
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