Banyana Banyana coach Desiree Ellis is looking at the positives despite his side ending their tour of Jamaica with back-to-back defeats.
South Africa lost their second match to the Reggae Girlz on Tuesday morning, following a 3-2 defeat in Montego Bay, this coming after a 3-0 loss to the same opponent on Saturday.
Banyana Banyana went ahead after 19 minutes through Linda Motlhalo but second half goals from Vyan Sampson, Drew Spence and Kayla McKenna gave the home side a 3-1 lead inside 76 minutes before Amogelang Motau pulled one back for Ellis’ team.
Desiree Ellis looking at the glass half-full
The defeat sees South Africa end the year on a sour note and it is now four straight losses in over one month for Banyana Banyana, having lost 5-0 to Norway at the end of October and 2-1 to England in November before facing Jamaica.
“We played the way we wanted to play and although we did not have a striker, because of late changes, I believe the players did very well today,” said Ellis.
“We knew that Jamaica would be physical and come at us, but we changed to play our tactics to suit this match. Our players kept the shape of the team, dominated the play upfront and our defenders did really well despite us conceding,” she added.
Should Banyana’s results be a cause for worry?
While Ellis remains confident, the losses to Jamaica will raise questions over their preparedness and capacity to defend their Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) even though the tournament will not be played until July 2025.
There will be an argument that they missed some of their top stars after Hilda Magaia and Karabo Dhlamini were ruled out due to injury while captain Thembi Kgatlana was unavailable due to club commitments but there was still enough quality to prevent two losses in succession against Jamaica.
South Africa were placed in Group C alongside Ghana, Mali and Tanzania following the WAFCON draw conducted last month.
