Banyana Banyana coach Desiree Ellis says he was not happy about “their movement off the ball” despite having many good moments when they beat Lesotho.
South Africa defeated Lesotho 1-0 in a match held at the University of Johannesburg’s Soweto Campus on Saturday afternoon.
Nobahle Mdelwa scored the match's only goal, converting a penalty in the 50th minute to secure the victory for Banyana.
This friendly is part of Ellis's preparations for the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) in July. She is using these matches to assess a wider range of players as the team aims to defend their continental title.
ELLIS GIVES ASSESSMENT ON BANYANA AFTER VICTORY OVER LESOTHO
“There were some good moments, and there were some not so good moments. But I think the not so good moments came from a lack of movement off the ball because when we had the movement, we could move the ball around, and when we did that, we looked good,” Dr Ellis said.
“I thought that if we moved a little bit more, especially the two wingers, who were very stagnant up front, they didn’t give us a lot, especially in the first half.
“The minute they dropped deeper, we were able to play, right? When we lost the ball, they didn’t help us there either. But I thought we had control. At times, it’s not our game to play long, but, you know, when they can’t find anyone, that’s what they do.
“But happy with what we did this week. There were some things that we worked on that worked, and there were some things that didn’t work.
“But as I said, it’s a short period of time with a young group and we wanted them to play. We said, let’s just go out and play.”
