Banyana coach Ellis unhappy with finishing despite WAFCON qualification

The South Africans, however, managed to book their spot in the Caf Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) after playing to a 1-1 draw with the Algeria, winning the tie 3-1 on aggregate, having won the first leg 2-0.

Just like it was in the first leg, Banyana Banyana coach Desiree Ellis wasn’t happy with her team’s poor display in front of goals during the second leg tie with Algeria in Algiers last Wednesday.

The Fennecs scored first on the stroke of half-time, but, Banyana got their equaliser from a penalty spot, which was taken by Linda Motlhalo just after the half hour mark. This was after Algerian defender Lydia Belkacemi was adjudged to have handled the ball inside the box.

“Our finishing was poor, we could have been 4-0 or 3-0 up before they scored. Also, the defending with the goal…we could have done better, the left winger didn’t track back. But this team has a lot of courage, they know, they have been in this position before.

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“We just needed to keep on playing. We felt that they were not a threat, except for the long balls and the set-pieces they got. We urged the players not to give free-kicks away around the area (close to the box) and they handled that very well,” said Ellis after the game.

“We knew that we were going to get a chance (to score) again. And once the penalty got in, we took control of the game and played our game. At the end, Algeria was just chasing because they needed to chase. It was not a great goal to give away, but credit to them, they never gave up. They fought to the better end.”

Banyana join hosts Morocco, Nigeria, Cameroon, Zambia, Burundi, Burkina Faso, Tunisia, Togo, Senegal, Botswana and Uganda as the final 12 teams that will compete for continental silverware.

The tournament is set to be played in Morocco in July and it will be for the first time it will consist of 12 nations.