Desiree Ellis coach of Banyana Banyana (Pic Sydney Mahlangu/ BackpagePix)
Desiree Ellis reckons Banyana Banyana’s quest to the success of the Cosafa Women’s Cup depends solely on them ahead of their semifinal meeting with Malawi at the Wolfson Stadium in Port Elizabeth on Thursday afternoon.
The Banyana coach has stated before that she is content with how the players have carried themselves throughout the group stages winning all of their games.
But she knows that the tournament gets more difficult as the team progresses and that they will need to be extra focused at the job at hand if they want to be the best in the Southern region.
“Semifinals are obviously a different ball game altogether, it becomes tougher and you have to be focused for the duration of the game and make sure that you execute your plans. It’s how badly the players want it as well. And we have a new group here and I have challenged them to make new memories and make their mark,” said Ellis.
“This is an opportunity for them to make their mark and for people to remember them. But we will work out a plan, but it is all up to the players.”
Banyana have been fantastic at the tournament, despite starting slowly with a 2-0 win over Angola.
They went on to register a 5-0 victory against Eswatini, before wrapping their group stages games with a 7-0 thrashing of Comoros.
Banyana have scored a total of 14 goals so far in the competition and they are yet to concede a goal.
But they are. coming up against a Malawi side that is lethal in front of goals and have proved it in the group phase.
Malawian twins Temwa and Tabitha Chawinga will certainly be players that Ellis and her charges will have to ensure that they keep quite in the game if they are to advance to the final.
Both sisters have contributed in the team’s goals, with Tabitha currently the joint top scorer at the tournament alongside Banyana’s Sibulele Holweni with six goals.
The clash between these sides promises to be a very entertaining encounter.
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