Ellis happy with Turkish welcome ahead of Uzbekistan clash

Banyana Banyana coach Desiree Ellis says they received a warm welcome from the Turkish people when they arrived in Antalya for the Turkish Women’s Cup.

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Ellis and her Banyana squad arrived in Turkey on Wednesday ahead of their first game of the competition against Uzbekistan on Saturday.

Initially, Banyana were set to play hosts Turkey in their opening game of the tournament which was scheduled for Wednesday, but last week’s earthquake in the country saw a lot of changes being made at the tournament.

Turkey has since withdrawn from the competition, with reports from that country stating that some of the players in the Turkey squad were affected by the earthquake and have families who live in the South Eastern part of the country, which took many lives and many still missing.

Banyana will now only play two games, firstly Uzbekistan, followed by a clash against Slovenia on Tuesday.

“We arrived safely in the country and we were warmly welcomed by the Turkish people. We arrived at the hotel with people greeting us. It was really fantastic and welcoming. We had an activation session earlier on after the long trip,” Ellis said.

Ellis left with a strong squad of home based players for the tournament, which include the likes of Bambanani Mbane, Kholosa Biyana and Hilda Magaia, while also including overseas-based Noxolo Cesane, Linda Motlhalo and Refiloe Jane who are expected to join the team on Thursday.

READ MORE: Banyana Banyana off to earthquake-hit Turkey

“We will have our full complement of our players for our match-day minus two training sessions tomorrow (Thursday). And then we will be ready for the game against Uzbekistan,” she added.

Meanwhile, striker Thembi Kgatlana is still working on recovering from the Achilles tendon injury she suffered during the Caf Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (Wafcon) tournament.

The newly signed Racing Louisville FC player is expected to recover in time before the start of the Fifa Women’s World Cup in July.